Special Operations Group
by CapeZero
Summary: AU: The team has been down a member for far too long, and a mission almost-gone-wrong coincidentally puts a potential fourth member on their operation manager's radar. [Complete]
1. Chapter 1

**Special Operations Group**

 ** _Summary - The team has been down a member for far too long, and a mission almost-gone-wrong coincidentally put a potential fourth member on their radar._**

 **Disclaimer _\- I own nothing, NCIS is not mine, I am merely borrowing the characters._**

 **A/N: I am not leaving _Minerva Precisions_ (!), I have the next two chapters written and ready to be uploaded, but seeing as I'm back home and my Dropbox for some reason has not synchronized I have not been able to do so. It will be up (hopefully) soon! This is just a (slightly longer) drabble I wrote to keep myself (and you!) entertained. Not sure if I want to/should continue. **

**Thanks in advance, Cape! :)**

* * *

"Hetty, we've lost contact with them." A distraught Eric informed his boss.

The operations room of the Spanish Mission was quickly filled with a feeling of dread at the statement. The technical team of two staring at the screen in front of them where they had contact with their team seconds before their helicopter was struck and all communication was terminated. The palpable silence was broken by the assistant director's hoarse voice.

"Are there any QRFs in the area?"

They originally had a quick reaction force standing by ten minutes out from where the mission had been executed, but now having been in a helicopter flying in the opposite direction of that group for quite some time, it would no longer be feasible to call on them for support.

"There looks to be a group not too far away in a small village, but I can't find any identification on them!" Nell informed hastily.

Hetty and Granger looked at each other, knowing that no identification on a military group in the Middle East would mean Special Forces. Also knowing that the most likely candidates would be either a SEAL team or a Delta unit seeing as these would require additional level of secrecy and therefore not have any documented presence.

"I'll contact Navy Commander McGriffin. Owen, you contact JSOC, let's see if we can get our agents some assistance."

A nod of confirmation had both the operations manager and the assistant director walking out of OPS, Hetty no doubt to her desk as she somehow still preferred using the landline from there, and Granger already having grabbed his phone to somewhere quiet, readying himself for a conversation that would, hopefully, end up in him owing someone a big favor in the future.

The technical operator and analyst were left alone, and with nothing constructive to currently do they could only hope that their boss or their boss' boss were able to be connected to the right people, and fast.

Hetty emerged through the doors to OPS first. Both Eric and Nell looked at her hopeful, a quick shake of the head 'no', letting them know that it was no SEAL team in the area, and as such, the Navy Commander could be of no assistance.

A minute later the assistant director came barging in the doors, "Eric connect me with JSOC on the big screen!"

Quickly connected to the Joint Special Operations Command, they relayed the information and the last known coordinates of their team prior to losing all communications. They were assured by the general that, while he could not disclose what team was in the area, that their current mission were not yet at green light status, and as such they would be rerouted from their current objective to support at the coordinates given, offering any assistance necessary. The call was ended with a promise, that they would be contacted the minute the general had any new information to share with them.

Now they could only wait.

Hetty left the operations room once more, probably on her way down to her office to brew some tea to help her relax. The assistant director was right at her heels, probably more hopeful to bring out one of the many bottles of scotch to calm his nerves, as he seemed to hate any tea with a passion.

...

After a gruelling two hours of waiting for answers, Eric was alerted to an incoming request from Fort Bragg. It took him a few seconds before realizing that JSOC is located there, as he did he tensed up, not knowing what information would be coming in soon.

Nell had instantly recognised the place as JSOC and was already on her way down the stairs to summon her two superiors up to OPS.

Once everyone was in front of the big screen, the call was accepted and the General appeared before them. "Henrietta, Owen." He nodded.

"General Steiner," Hetty greeted back, "I hope you have some good news for us, old friend."

"It took a while to locate the chopper, and my team encountered heavy resistance between them and the target location, presumably the ones who shot down your bird." He started. "I'm sorry to inform you that-" the general coughed slightly, and an audible intake of air could be head from Nell as she readied for the information they were about to receive. Eric quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed in support. "Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot made it out alive."

She should feel bad about being relieved, but she couldn't at this moment. At this moment, she only cared about the status of the three agents whom had been passengers in the crashed helicopter.

Granger seemed to be having the exact same train of thought, as he prodded, "And the agents?"

"The agents and the prisoner are a little worse for wear, but overall their status are operational."

"Thank you, general." A deep breath of relief escaped Hetty before continuing, "Where are the team transporting them to?"

"My team will be waiting with them for pickup, and I have been informed that birds from USS Harry Truman will be picking them up, as was your original plan also, correct?"

"You were informed correctly, general. Thank you again once more."

"A pleasure to be of service, Henrietta."

As the connection ended, the atmosphere in the room had increased tenfold in positivity. Knowing that their team had gotten through the crash, relatively, unscathed had been a huge relief, and with the knowledge that the attackers had been taken down and multiple choppers had been called to accompany them back to the aircraft carrier, they were as safe as safe could be in that region.

...

The next couple of days went by slowly, since the primary team was still aboard an aircraft carrier in the Middle East, there were not any immediate active cases which needed the attention of the partners up in OPS, meaning they were working on finding leads in older or cold cases. Nothing too exciting.

Hetty had been in contact with General Steiner a few more times during the last days, and had made a request, that even though he could not disclose the identity of the group that had come her team to the rescue, he would ask if any of them would be prone to meet with her for her thanks if they were ever to be in Los Angeles.

Granger had gone back to Washington for the time being seeing as there was a lot of paperwork and ruffled feathers from the operation that needed straightening.

...

Two more days had passed when the team was finally able to set foot in Los Angeles. Once again able to breathe in the ocean breeze and smog that characterises the city, depending on where in the county you are of course.

The return to the Mission had almost knocked Kensi over as Nell assaulted her with a ferocious hug upon entering the bullpen. Eric was close behind with the 'welcome backs', and the team agreed to celebrate their return with drinks and dinner that evening.

Their operations manager had finished the debriefing from the mission early, and let them all go home for a shower and change of clothes before their usual ending hours, since she somehow knew that they had plans for tonight.

...

"I'm just glad you're back home safe." Nell stated, still a little shaken from the whole experience of not knowing.

"Cheers to that!" The navy SEAL had chuckled, as they all raised their beers over the table.

The meal was passed in comfortable conversation as the team was once again, almost, whole. They still had not been able to completely recover from the loss of Dom two years prior, all of the temporary replacements washed out fairly quickly, the longest having lasted just shy of three months.

As the evening wound down they all said their goodbyes to one another, happy to once again be back home and together.

...

As the weeks passed by, normality seemed to once again surround the specialised NCIS team. There had been a few stressful encounters, one being an especially nasty case regarding a potential terror threat involving a school bus filled with children. But overall they had passed the time since returning from their overseas mission with flying collars.

Granger had returned back from Washington, done with mending fences for the time being. He sat down opposite Hetty, "We need to get the position for Blye's partner filled soon, the director was pretty set on that."

"And I suppose he thinks that suitable agents for this position is easily acquired?" She countered, not happy with the pressure the director was putting on her. She was adamant that the next partner had to fill out the needs of the team and suit her female agent.

"He did have a candidate he said you might be interested in," Granger answered, sliding over the file he had obviously been given from the director.

Granger sipped his coffee, carefully studying the face of the operational manager. She opened the file carefully and studied it intensely, making sure to read and re-read every paragraph as she always did with any new candidate to her team. She stopped when she got to a particular part of the information.

She looked studiously at the man sitting across from her, "He was part of the group who rescued our team in Syria."

"He was," he nodded confirmation.

"Why is he applying here then?" She asked the obvious.

"I'm not sure he is, Henrietta. But I was told by our friend, General Steiner, that he is headed stateside for the next couple of weeks since their mission is completed."

The nodded slowly, processing what her enemy turned friend was telling her. She _had_ seen his address in the file, and after sixteen years of service surely he could do with a breath of fresh air and a change in sceneries. After all she could be very persuasive. She smiled and grabbed her tea, "Thank you, Owen. I think I have a call or two to make."

She picked up her phone and dialled, as it was answered she went, "General, I have a favour to ask you…"

...

He looked up from the parking lot wondering if he had been given the correct address. The building he was looking at seemed more like a somewhat run down boathouse rather than a facility any agency would use.

Thinking to himself that it could not hurt to at least go inside and take a look, he stepped out of his vehicle and straightened his uniform quickly. Chuckling to himself at the thought that he was ensuring that he was presentable… at least as presentable as his look would allow for.

Knocking on the door he heard no answer, and decided to enter, announcing his presence. "This is Master Sergeant Deeks! Am I in the right facility?" He asked, loud enough to be heard throughout. Knowing that if this was an NCIS facility, entering unannounced could lead to a dangerous situation.

"Ah yes, Mr. Deeks, please do come in." He heard a voice coming from the end of the small corridor.

He stepped into the larger room, and found a tiny old lady standing on the opposite side of a coffee table from him. He chuckled inwardly at the sight of the woman, having been in the business he had, he know how to keep an unreadable exterior.

"You must be Ms. Lange?" He asked.

"It's Miss, but I prefer Hetty." She confirmed and explained.

"Yes ma'am."

She gestured to the couch opposite her, "Please do sit, Mr. Deeks."

"So what can I do for you Miss Lan- err, Hetty?" He asked as he sat in the offered seating. Slightly thrown off by the fact that, even though he had introduced himself by rank the woman still seemed adamant on calling him 'Mr.' instead. Quickly stowing that away, his training not allowing any micro expressions to surface.

"Well first I would like to thank you and the team you were working with for your efforts in helping my team." She stated somewhat quizzically.

He looked at her wondering for a few moments, then asked, "It was your team we helped in Syria?"

"Indeed it was, Mr. Deeks."

He studied her features, trying to get a read on her but unable to. She was good. Somehow he got the feeling that he was not there just for the mystery women to say her thanks to him, and his gut feeling had saved him more than a few dozen times, so he went with it.

"But that isn't why you've asked me here, is it?" Might as well get straight to the point, he thought.

If the tiny woman across from him was thrown off from his direct questioning, she certainly was not showing it. She sat quietly sipping what he thought to be tea. Putting the cup down she looked at him and answered. "No it was not." Not giving anything away in regards to the real reason why.

"Then what was?"

"I have a problem that I hoped you could help me solve." She smiled at him.

"Which is…?" He continued the questioning, drawing out the last word.

"As you have probably been informed, I am the operations manager of the NCIS field office here in Los Angeles." She looked up and found him nodding, obviously not any new information to him. She continued, "And for quite some time I have been unable to fill the last spot on my team."

Immediately catching on to what she is saying, this time he was not able to hide his surprise. The woman just cocked her head ever so slightly at him, awaiting a response.

"I'm not sure that would be the right call, ma'am."

"Mr. Deeks, you haven't yet signed your papers for reinstatement and you find yourself here in LA, surely that is a sign of something. Is it not?"

He sighed heavily, thrown off balance that she had been able to know he had considered ending his military career at this point in time, but also because she somehow already knew he had not signed his papers yet. How could she know that?

"How do you know I have not already signed those papers?"

"I have a knack for knowing things," she paused and slid a folder across the small coffee table to him. "And I do believe that this move would be just right for both you and the team."

His gaze shifted from her to the folder in front of him. Opening it he found a signing contract to the NCIS OSP team within. Flipping over the pages he found they had all been filled in, information that should not be available to anyone besides his direct superiors. Finding himself more alert now, he slid the folder back towards the woman, Miss Lange, and moved his other hand to the small of his back, ready to grab his pistol if need be.

The tiny woman of course noticed the immediate change in demeanor of the man, including where his right hand was moving. She lifted up both of her hands in a calming matter, showing him that she was no threat. Nodding towards his hand on his small on his back, she started, "I assure you Mr. Deeks, that will not be necessary. No one is here to hurt you nor get any information. As you can see I already have all that I need."

Still unsure of the woman and now on high alert, he moved his pistol onto the table for easier access, and grabbed the folder gesturing with it through the air, "This was supposed to be classified, how did you get this?" A harsher voice than he had previously used, she noted.

"I have my ways," she answered wanting him slightly on edge before wanting to calm his nerves, she liked knowing how her agents, future or current, would react in these situations.

"And…?" He prodded for her to continue, obviously having picked up on her not being finished.

"And General Bates says hello." She smiled widely at him, knowing he would relax more now since he would know that she knew his direct superior by name.

"How do you kno-" he started, but was interrupted by yelling from the side.

"Federal agents! Move away from the gun!"

He looked up to see a man cuffed off balance, his captor had obviously pushed him to the side. Besides the stumbling man he found himself on the business end of the guns of three very serious agents.

"We won't tell you again!" The larger African-American agent told him, stepping closer to him. Something about his posture screamed SEAL, and he found himself chuckling over what he would usually call him. This just did not seem the right time nor place for that.

"Gentlemen, Ms. Blye, put the weapons away. I was just having a chat with the newest member of your team."

All four looked at the operations manager, completely surprised by her words. Callen, Sam, and Kensi because they had heard nothing of a new teammate coming in, and Deeks because he had not yet accepted anything, although he would later admit that the offer was intriguing. And if the offer was not intriguing the captivating brunette he saw certainly was.

Still feeling the unease in the room, Deeks decided to completely disarm himself, picking up his weapon using his index finger and thumb and tossed it into a chair next to him. That seemed the right move as the three agents in front of him visibly relaxed and slowly holstered their weapons.

"Mr. Callen would you be so inclined to move whoever you have there," she said gesturing to the captured individual, "Into interrogation, and then return here so we can make introductions."

The team lead did as asked and returned a minute later, looking quizzically at their boss.

The three agents stood next to each other as their boss stood up and gestured for Deeks to do the same, he did and she started the introductions. "This is special agents G. Callen," he shook the hand of the team lead, "Sam Hanna," another handshake, "And Kensi Blye." As he shook her hand and smiled at her, she felt an odd, warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"And this is Master Sgt. Marty Deeks."

"You're military?" The large man obviously thrown off by the military ranking, and who could blame him, the shaggy hair and usual laid-back attitude was meant to do just that.

Just as he was about to answer, the tiny woman spoke up, "Mr. Deeks was Green Baret turned Delta Force before being recruited to the SOG." Their operations manager briefed them matter-of-factly.

Deeks himself was not too pleased with the mention of SOG, seeing as that was supposed to be highly classified. But having a bit of faith in what seemed to be his new boss, he understood that the people in front of him must have a high level of security clearance for her to share such a thing.

"What's SOG?" The woman introduces as Kensi asked.

It was, once again, the larger of the two male agents who spoke up. "SOG also known as The Special Operations Group, is a group of handpicked special forces working covert operations for the CIA." He briefed quickly.

"You're CIA?" The smaller of the two men asked, Callen if Deeks recalled correctly, and he usually did.

He ran his hand through his hair, as he always does when unsure of a situation, "I'd like to see myself more as military than spook."

He smiled to himself as that seemed to have been the correct answer as the man asking the question nodded contently. He seemed to give off a vibe of apprehension towards the thought of the CIA, even formerly, on his team, surely there is a story there somewhere.

The introductions lasted a while longer and somewhere in the middle of it Deeks surprised himself as he found himself thinking that he would actually be quite content in the company of the people surrounding him currently. As the conversation is breaking up seeing as they actually do have a suspect waiting to be interrogated, Hetty coerces Deeks to sign the papers she had previously put in front of him. Somehow he knows that is the correct decision going forward, he does need to put down some roots, and travelling all over the world without ever technically being anywhere is not a way to grow old.

When the three agents step out of the interrogation room they quickly say their farewells and decide to go out for a few drinks that night to get to know each other better.

...

The case the team had been working on was an easy one. A sailor who tried to make some extra money by couriering drugs on the ship he was stationed on, and as such the team was available for the drinks with their newest team member as previously planned.

They all arrived at the small, but cosy, place even having Nell and Eric join them. The gang of five entered the bar and looked around to see if they could spot the shaggy haired addition to their team. Kensi was the first to see him, sitting in a booth at the corner of the establishment. As they approach him, and now knowing he is not a hostile, Kensi allows herself to notice his physique a bit more, lean and toned without being too much, and that cornflower blue button up shirt he is wearing goes perfectly with his ocean blue eyes she thinks before quickly shaking her head for allowing her thoughts to go there.

As the evening went on the team did notice how open their female agent was acting towards the scruffy blonde compared to how she would usually act towards any tempts they had working with them.

As it got later most had said their farewells and in the end it was just Kensi and Deeks sitting in the booth. Even though the opposite side was now available, neither seemed to mind sitting next to one another. They were sitting talking about everything and nothing. Kensi asking him about humorous stories from the military and Deeks asking her about the same from NCIS, they both were satisfied with keeping the subjects light hearted.

Being a work day they both agreed upon calling it a night, even though they seemed to have been able to spend much more time in each other's company. Deeks had told her, as per the contract he signed, that he would start in a little over three weeks, since he did have to travel to North Carolina and Fort Bragg to sign his dismissal papers from JSOC.

They both found themselves thinking that, surprisingly, it would be a long three weeks without the company of the other.

* * *

 **A/N: So let me know, is this a story I should pursue and sideline with _Minerva Precisions_ , or just keep it as a one shot for the time being? As always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all the awesome support for this story! Given that I hadn't really put a lot of thought into it, it took my hugely by surprise, thanks a lot!**

 **ucialum85: I had honestly not thought about Sam's behavior, but after you pointed it out I've decided to keep him... nice (weird I know!). Thanks for the input!**

 **As I mentioned in the author notes in chapter 1, I am _NOT_ finished with _Minerva Precisions_ for all writing about that, I have a finished chapter ready to upload back at my desktop PC, but since it has not synchronized with my laptop I am unable to access that file currently, and I do not want to rewrite the chapter. It will be uploaded as soon as I step foot back in my apartment! :)**

* * *

The three weeks were up and Kensi was now waiting to pick up her upcoming partner from the airport. Heavy winds had delayed the plane that Deeks was on, leaving a restless Kensi now pacing in front of the arrivals gate at LAX. Of course she had not seen the text he had sent stating his delay before arriving at the airport, and with the traffic it would not have been feasible to return home before coming back to pick him up, which meant that more than two hours spent at the airport, alone.

Finally seeing the man she had been waiting for pass through the last security check. The moment he laid eyes on her, a smile grew on his face, which sucked out all the air in her lungs. How someone who she had not known for more than a month, and not even spent more than a day with, could have such an effect on her was driving her mad. A grown woman is definitely not supposed to crush on anyone like that, much less a federal agent on their now partner.

But just look at him, she thought to herself. Since he no longer was part of the military, he was not required to travel in his uniform, which let him wear what he was now. A nice form fitting polo shirt, just tight enough to see the tone of his muscles through the layer of fabric, and those tight washed out jeans which should definitely be criminalised for being unfair towards every other man in the building. Oh yes, Kensi Blye was in big trouble.

"Welcome home, Sergeant!" Kensi chirped in a little too enthusiastic voice.

"That's Master Sergeant to you," he said playfully and winked, then continued, "Besides, technically I'm a civilian now, no need for all the formalities."

"That must be weird, huh?" She asked, "How long were you enlisted?"

"Just about sixteen years. I signed up the day I turned eighteen." He responded. Kensi did notice that there seemed to be more behind just wanting to serve his country as a reason to join, but decided against pursuing that line of questioning until she had gotten to know him better, and he seemed thankful at leaving the subject at that.

The drive through LA traffic was surprisingly relaxing, even with Kensi's… adventurous driving etiquette. Just as it had three weeks prior in the bar, the conversation flowed nice and freely, they were both laughing when recalling humorous situations suspects had found themselves in. Deeks retold a story from when he was definitely _not_ in Yemen, where a suspect had incriminated himself and attempted to make a run for it. In the attempt he tried carjacking what turned out to be one of the QRF vehicles in the area, so when he opened the door and stared at five very serious, very angry soldiers who stared back, he passed out.

When they pulled up to Deeks' apartment the hour ride had seemed more like fifteen minutes, and they both hesitated a bit before the former Master Sergeant got out of the vehicle. He grabbed his bags from the trunk and leaned in through the passenger side window, which she had rolled down.

"Thanks for picking me up Kensi. I really appreciated it." His smile letting her know just how much he truly meant his words.

"You're, uhm, you're welcome," she surprised herself. Why was she nervous, it wasn't like she had just dropped off a date or anything, no, this was her colleague.

Seemingly catching on to her nervousness, he decided to save her from further incriminating herself to the reddening of her collarbone and cheeks, "Anyways, I'll catch you at work Monday, right?" And just like that he turned around, wanting to save her from the embarrassment of having no answer, and also to hide the fact that he, too, was reacting to the awkwardness between them.

"Deeks wait!" She yelled over the roof of the car, haven gotten out of her SRX.

He stopped and turned around to look at her, she seemed so insecure and he caught himself wondering where that confident agent he had met at the boatshed was hidden.

"I was just wondering if you, uhm, if you'd like to meet up sometime during the weekend." She took a breath, knowing she was sort of asking him out, but not wanting to commit fully to the thought she added, "You know, get to know each other better before working together." She added a shy smile. Hopefully he would be able to see and hear the underlying tone in her question.

The response came immediately, "I'd like that a lot." And just as such, she was awarded with the most captivating smile she had ever seen. This scruffy man was sure to be the end of her. "Sunday good for you? I still have quite a few things to take care of seeing as I'm permanently back home."

"Sunday is good." She confirmed, and the shy smile she had been donning had turned into a fully-fledged one, a smile that softened the knees in the otherwise hard military man, who stood on the opposite side of the car.

"I'll see you Sunday, then." He smiled and turned around, once more heading towards his apartment.

She got back into the car, but did not start it right away. Had she really just asked her future co-worker and partner on a faux date? He was an operator, and according to Hetty, and the fact that he had been part of SOG, one of the best around, of course he would have picked up on her blush and the change in tone when she asked him. Shaking her head she started the car, but the smile never left her face on the drive home to her own place.

...

Saturday came around and as usual Deeks was up at first light. A childhood filled with surfing and an adulthood filled with various military units had him on an early internal clock. Despite being up at what many would consider an abysmal time, he felt like the day had too few hours in it. He spent it running errands, purchasing groceries, general cleaning and venting out his apartment amongst other things. When he finally went to sleep in the freshly made bed, it was well past midnight, and he sighed, knowing his internal clock would have him up bright and early in a few hours.

Kensi's day had not been much easier, although she really did not have any errands to run or chores to do, besides the usual cleaning which could always be put off until… later. She had not been able to get a lot of sleep, sirens passing by her apartment had woken her during the night, and her jumbled thoughts running through her head did not allow for her to fall back asleep. Replaying what had happened outside Deeks' apartment over and over. She tried turning off her thoughts in the evening by watching some mindless television, but even her usual de-stressor had almost no effect. When her thoughts rummaging finally subsided and sleep grasped at her it was well past midnight.

...

He had called her and they agreed that she would pick him up, seeing as he still did not have a vehicle yet, and would not be able to pick up his rental before Monday morning. An hour before the agreed upon time Kensi started to ready herself, after exiting her shower and drying off she found herself in another dilemma, what to wear. It all came back to whether or not this was just a friendly dinner or something more the likes of an actual date.

She decided on some close fitting jeans, a black bottom through shirt, and a pair of flat bottom shoes. Thinking it seemed to be nicely in between friendly wear and how one would dress up for a date.

Having that sorted she locked off her apartment and got into her Caddy, making sure that even if the traffic was even more awful than usual, she would still be able to make it to his apartment in decent time.

As she pulled up to his apartment complex she had no idea that he had gone through the exact same dilemma as she had. Walking up the stairs, towards his door, she did a one-over of herself ensuring that the car ride to his complex did not somehow magically ruin her outfit.

She only managed to knock once before the door swung open, and in front of her stood the man who could somehow conjure butterflies in her stomach instantaneously. The shaggy haired man stood in front of her, and the first thing she noticed was the prize winning smile she would later find he specifically saved just for her. She let her gaze drift over him, she knew it was quite rude but looking up she found him doing the same to her.

Her eyes darted from the ocean blue eyes and the scruffy face to his chest, he was wearing a white v-neck t-shirt with a light grey blazer. She continued letting her eyes drift and saw his dark skinny jeans, finishing off the outfit with a pair of black loafers. Again not so fancy that one would instantly assume that it was for a date, but not so casual that it was guaranteed to be for meeting a friendly acquaintance.

"Wow." He muttered under his breath, obviously having finished letting his gaze drift over her.

She smiled appreciative and repaid the compliment, "You don't look too bad there yourself."

He offered her his arm and she took it without any thoughts as they made their way back to her SRX.

Unlike the last ride they had together, this one was filled with comfortable silence, neither saying anything, afraid of letting the other know how nervous they each were. Because after all, this was not really a date, right? And seeing as it was definitely _not_ a date, there would be no reason to be nervous.

They were seated at a table at a quaint Italian restaurant, nothing too fancy but not exactly the local burger shack either. Conversation was once again flowing freely, and Kensi did not think she had laughed that much in a very, very long time, her sides were in absolute stitches and her jaw was sore from all the laughing.

When their meal was finished, including dessert as Kensi had demanded, they made their way back to the car and eventually all the way back to Deeks' apartment complex. They both sat in the car willing the evening not to end, neither not wanting to open the doors of the vehicle that would ensure the conclusion to their outing.

Sensing his own and her unwillingness, Deeks turned towards her and spoke softly, "I really enjoyed this evening… whatever it was." Chuckling at the last bit, he, too, had sensed the uncertainty surrounding the reasoning behind the time together.

She took at deep breath, dealing with emotions was not her strong point, talking about them was almost completely out of the question. But knowing that he had opened the door for her to clarify exactly what this evening was to her, she took a leap of faith. Hoping that she had sensed correctly, she almost whispered the word, "Date."

Judging by the wide smile that she had come to love spread across his face, he had obviously heard what she uttered under her breath. Never one to not push a situation, he could not help himself, "Sorry what was that?" Gesturing behind him to the otherwise empty parking lot, he continued, "I just… couldn't hear you for all the traffic, and I think there was a siren as well and…"

"You're an idiot." She interrupted his rant laughingly.

Chuckling, he just raised eyebrows and cocked his head ever so slightly at hear. Waiting for an actual response.

"A _date_ , it was a date." She was pretty sure she was blushing by now.

He nodded, glad she had confirmed what he had heard, more for her own sake than him. But he also knew the complications a relationship could bring to a unit, or in this case a partnership.

She looked him in the eyes, and it was as if she could read him like an open book. She sensed his uncertainty about the fact that it was, indeed, a date as he suspected. Wanting to clear any doubts he might have, she asked, "So where does that leave us then?"

"What do you mean?"

"With work. Where does that leave us?" She clarified.

"We need to keep anything separate." He stated softly but firmly. When she nodded in agreement he continued, "And I don't think we should mention any of this to anyone at work either."

She cocked her head, asking him silently to clarify his reasoning behind that statement.

He took a moment to ponder the silent question, and spoke from experience when he found words for an answer, "They don't need any additional reasons to doubt us, other than we're new to working together. If it works, great, and if it doesn't we need to see where our…" he cleared his throat, "relationship goes. If we can't work together because of it, I will leave the team since I'm not that invested in it yet."

Looking into his eyes, she saw nothing but sincerity, but she stayed silence for quite a while, contemplating everything he had just said. He wanted to give the two of them a fighting chance, both at work and with this _thing_ they obviously had. She knew it was not against the rules to date a co-worker, she had checked that the second she suspected the two teammates from OPS were having mutual feelings for one another. I still scared her though, as a rule she generally did not do feelings well, but perhaps, for once, rules were made to be broken.

Nodding slightly, agreeing with her internal sentiment that she could break her self imposed rule, she softly agreed with him, "Okay."

She found herself wanting to constantly agree with him if it meant him flashing that brilliant smile of his more often, seemingly managing to lighten the dark car completely.

He leaned in ever so slightly, "Would it be okay, if I…?"

She smiled lightly and nodded her acceptance, and he leaned in. Softly placing his lips on hers, nothing heated about the moment, but a promise on his lips that they were going to give this a chance, that they both wanted this _thing_. Leaning back she looked into his blue orbs and saw no doubts, only passion and wanting. Likewise he looked into her beautiful, brown, mismatched eyes and saw the same expression reflected there.

Clearing his throat, effectively breaking the spell that seemed to have been cast upon the two in the Cadillac, he motioned towards the stairs at his apartment, "I guess I better go before anything else happens. I want this to work, but I want to do this slowly."

She could not stop herself from letting a little bit of mischief shine through, teasing him, "Slow _can_ be good sometimes." Ending that statement with a smirk and a wink.

He brought his lips to hers once more, just long enough for it not to chaste before he broke it. "Now I definitely need to leave before something happens."

She nodded at him, he was right of course, taking this slow would be important for it to work, both in and outside of work.

He opened the door and stepped out, leaning on the roof and door, "Goodnight, Kens."

"Goodnight, Marty."

...

If there was any awkwardness the following morning it was blamed on the fact that it is bound to happen when partnering up with a new member. Especially with an outsider coming to join the team in the way that Marty Deeks had.

The day had been an extremely slow one, no pressing cases left the team handling paperwork. The optimism that Deeks had prior to showing up given that since he had not been part of the team before he would not have any paperwork to fill out from their missions, had promptly been destroyed by the tiny operations manager, who had procured countless documents for him to read over, sign, and fill out in regards to him starting with the team.

Finally able to see the light at the end of the paper hell of a tunnel the team had travelled through, they all started packing. Surprisingly, it was Sam who broke the silence.

"So… dinner everyone?" He nodded towards Deeks, "Celebrate the newest addition to the team."

This caught the team lead by surprise, usually his partner was not this forth coming in welcoming new members to the team 'temps' as he would generally call them. He pushed it to the back of his mind, reasoning that perhaps it was because Deeks was a battle proven military man rather than a green agent straight out of FLETC, choosing to ignore the fact that not every temporary agent they had, had been completely green.

Everyone happily agreed, Kensi went upstairs to ask the two Deeks had already dubbed the 'Wonder Twins' from the stories he had been told about different missions, who also happily agreed.

The dinner was had at a burger joint Callen seemed to favour, claiming that they did not skimp on the bacon, which just caused his partner to lecture him about eating healthy, a discussion that seemed to be occurring at least on a bi-weekly basis. If anyone noticed that the newest member of the team and his partner were even more chummy with each other than last team outing, no one mentioned it.

Everyone said their goodbyes just before ten and split up. Deeks noticed that Kensi seemed to hang back ever so slightly. He copied her movement, and as such they were alone in the parking lot after all their teammates had left for their homes.

Through his protests of it being messy, albeit not really, she invited herself over to his place to watch a movie, claiming that she was not tired enough to go home and sleep just yet. They did just that, and Deeks was thoroughly surprised when the tough special agent chose Titanic as her movie to watch. They both sat down on the couch and as the movie progressed, they slowly gravitated towards each other. When the credits were rolling, Kensi was leaning her head on the shoulder of Deeks and he was snaking his arm around her shoulders.

...

The following days continued with an overflow of paperwork and no cases. The evenings spent at his apartment watching mindless television or a random movie, not really discussing anything going on between them, both contempt to keep their promise to one another to take things slow.

Friday brought their first real case since the expansion of the team. Following the leads of the murdered Petty Officer led them to a shady bar, Callen and Sam were about to enter and flash their badges to get any information, but Deeks insisted on letting him go in, partially because he knew none of the patrons would be inclined to talk to anyone within law enforcement and partially because he wanted to showcase some of his skills. Shrugging his shoulders, the team lead agreed and handed him an ear wig to keep contact whilst he was in there.

As he walked towards the bar, the three teammates watched as his whole demeanor changed. He suddenly had a slight limp and he slouched ever so slightly, hiding the straight stride he usually carried himself by. Listening through their coms, they also noted the change in accent and speech pattern he implemented inside. Not even five minutes after entering he came out with a name of the guy the Petty Officer had been with last evening, and both the team lead and his partner found themselves being thoroughly impressed with what they had just witnessed. Also Kensi seemed very impressed as he entered the passenger side of her car, he just smiled at her and shrugged it off.

The guy whose name Deeks had procured at the bar ended up being the one who had committed the murder, and with an easy confession at the hands of the navy SEAL, the case was officially closed the same day it started.

Hetty studied her team as they returned to the bullpen. Deeks was laughing and teasing his teammates about already having a higher conviction rate at NCIS than his teammates. They took it in stride, throwing back humorous insults that bore no weight either. Somehow the Master Sergeant had already flawlessly melded into the team, not a small feat, the operations manager thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the continous support, it really well and truly drives me towards wanting to write more!**

* * *

The following weeks had proved to be increasingly busy, working nonstop on cases and lacking severely in the sleep department because of the several all-nighters they had pulled because of lesser undercover operations. The agents were both physically and mentally exhausted when the first non-work weekend since the one they had had when Deeks first joined the team, now an entire month ago.

The synergy of the elite unit had increased tenfold with the addition of the shaggy haired military man. He did seem like the perfect fit for the team, the military part appeased the navy SEAL, the ability to somehow blend in to any environment appeased the former CIA agent turned team leader, and, well, everything appeased the only female agent on the team.

Because of the incredible busy schedule that the team had performed under, Kensi and Deeks had not been able to spend hardly any time together outside of work, which, because of their agreement, meant that they had not had any time to further explore the aspects of their relationship, if you could call it that yet… their _thing_ seemed like a better non-descriptive way to relate to it, at least for the time being, until the two had fully worked out what exactly was between them.

They had agreed to try and remedy that fact this weekend, having no plans except for spending time together, doing whatever they felt like. Deeks had, however, made Kensi promise not to be steadfast on whatever sappy movie was showing on television, claiming that they needed to spend time together outside of their apartments and off the job. She pouted slightly at that, but it bore no weight, as she knew he was right in thinking that.

...

The Friday evening was spent like they had the first week he had joined the team, on the couch with her precious rocky road ice cream, which he sometimes managed to steal a spoonful of. Deeks had quickly learnt to keep it in stock in his freezer. Despite half-heartedly arguing against the choice of movie, he eventually gave in and let Kensi pick another sappy one to watch.

He woke up to an unfamiliar feeling of someone pressed up against him, and in his groggy, sleepy state it took longer than he would care to admit to figure out that he had fallen asleep on the couch with his beautiful partner. Trapped between the back of the couch and Kensi, he decided to just close his eyes and revel in the comfort that waking up alongside her gave him.

About an hour later, Kensi started to awaken from her slumber, feeling the closeness on her backside she pressed further back without conscious thought, wanting to prolong the feeling of safety and contempt that she felt in the moment, knowing her partner was right behind her.

"Morning sleepyhead," he whispered, the heat of his breath on her neck and ear and the slight touch of his scruff sent tingling feelings down her spine and through her entire body.

"Just a few more minutes," she mumbled back, not yet ready to leave the comfort of having his body so close, she scooted her body even more flush up against him.

He chuckled at her antics, enjoying spending time together and learning all her facets, such as her definitely _not_ being a morning person. Thinking to himself, that her love of food might be the best, and safest, way to ease her sleepy form into action, he decided to be a good… friend, boyfriend? Titles are such a hassle in these instances, he laughed inwardly. Anyways, he wanted to make breakfast for them.

Nudging her slightly so he could extract himself from the valley that had been created the pillows and her.

"What are you doing?" An annoyed, half-sleeping Kensi asked him.

"I figured it wouldn't be safe to try and wake you up without making some breakfast?" He cooed.

"S'ok then." She responded sleepily, moving slightly to make room for him to get up, before taking up all the warm space now left for her.

He took a moment to just look at the gorgeous, snoozing woman before he went into his kitchen and started absentmindedly making some breakfast frittatas. Midway through he heard some movement towards the kitchen, but he did not turn around. Aware that she was watching him, he let her indulge the view as he had previously. He was rewarded when he felt a pair of arms sneaking around his midsection, she leaned her head between his shoulder blades and hummed contently.

"Smells good," she expressed in a low murmur.

She loosened her hold on him slightly and he turned around, still in her embrace. Before either knew what had happened he stole a kiss, not long enough to be heated but not chaste either. She just smiled at him, unable to find words in that moment.

"Hopefully it'll live up to your expectations then."

The double meaning of what he said not lost on either of them. Their relationship, their _thing_. Somehow it made her feel better that he shared the same doubts surrounding the commitment as she did.

They drove around to Kensi's place to pick up a change of clothes and a book to read. They then headed towards the ocean, and spent most of the day relaxing at the beach. Deeks continuously attempted to coerce her into trying surfing, but she claimed she was content with reading and watching him battle the waves. The evening was spent with some Yummi Yummi Heart Attack, a greasy favourite of Kensi's, and soon to be one of Deeks' as well, and watching mindless reality TV. Programs that would usually have Deeks pulling out his hair by the root, but somehow seemed manageable and almost okay in the company of the woman currently cuddled into him.

Sunday morning started much like the day prior, with the two of them cuddled together on the couch, although this time there was no momentary confusion from Deeks, who, as usual, was up at daybreak. He manages to wiggle out of the embrace of the woman he had come to care a great deal about in a very short time. It must be the fact that he is back home for good and could for once attempt to set down roots, he thought to himself and smiled.

After visiting his restroom, he moved silently into the kitchen to start making breakfast, wanting to continue the trend of bribing the sleepy woman with food when waking up. Deciding to appeal more to her sweet tooth this morning. Deeks settled on pancakes for breakfast, something he had not made in what seemed like forever, but with a recipe _that_ simple, it is hard to forget how to make.

"Good morning!" He chirped in a voice much too cheerful for Kensi considering the time.

She was about to retort with some snappy saying when she smell of the food permeated the living room, in which she was sleeping.

"Is that pancakes?" She asked, slowly sitting up and stretching, even as comfortable it was sleeping next to Deeks, the same compliment could not be given for sleeping on a couch.

"Yup! With syrup and sugar on the side. Wasn't sure what you'd prefer" He sat down next to her and pressed a kiss to her temple, "Didn't think it'd be safe to wake you without food." He chucked.

Kensi had already demolished the first pancake. "Good choice," she said, and started on number two, with her mouth full, she mumbled a, "Thank you."

After cleaning up breakfast and taking showers… separately, even though Deeks jokingly asked if she wanted to join him, she had blushed but declined the offer, steadfast on approaching this relationship in a slow manner to ensure it working out. They decided to play tourists in their own city, knowing that it would take several weekends to see everything, but liking the idea that they would have a project of sorts to work on as a couple. Seeing as Deeks had been travelling all over the world for more than the past decade, never home more than a few weeks at a time, barring injuries, he never really had time to go sightseeing in Los Angeles. Of course Deeks insisted on starting said sightseeing with Venice Beach, followed by an afternoon at Santa Monica Pier.

When the sky started darkening, they decided to grab something to eat. Picking a small restaurant Kensi knew, just off the beaten path, they got settled in a cosy booth. The restaurant had an old western flair to it without going too overboard. It obviously appealed to a wide audience seeing as there were families with small children, a few younger couples as well as a quite a few other groups taking up most of the booths, all having a great time.

Even though it seemed very busy, the service was excellent and the food even greater. They both had decided on the restaurant's speciality, a porterhouse steak with a side of oven-baked potatoes and a red wine sauce. Deeks had to call it quits at one point, but Kensi of course managed to down her entire meal, even stealing a few of his potatoes in the process, but for once opting out of having any dessert.

They sat for quite a while talking, even after finishing their meals, neither wanted to leave the comfortable bubble they had created around them and end their evening together.

Finally willing himself to move on from the magically world that was Kensi, Deeks tried to grab the attention of their waiter to get the bill. As he did, the door to the establishment was opened forcefully, and a voice yelled into the crowd, "Everybody stay where you are, eyes down and shut up! This is a robbery!"

A second man chimed in, "Everyone do as you're told and nobody is going to get hurt!"

Quickly assessing the situation Kensi noticed that there were three robbers in total, one hastily moving towards the register and the two others making their way around to the patrons, collecting their phones, watched, and jewellery. She quickly relayed this information to her partner since he was sitting with his back to the action, and turning around would have been too suspicious.

Even though they had only been working together for roughly a month, they had already learnt to communicate with one another through their eyes and slight movements, undetectable unless one was specifically looking for it. Wordlessly deciding that their best option would be to wait for the two collecting valuables from the customers to make their way to their table and then strike.

Deeks moved his phone onto the table, but away from the edge of said table, which would force the robber to reach past him to get it. Kensi picked up on this, and nodded to him, signalling that she knew to take out the one holding the bag of valuables, each taking care of one, then dealing with the last accomplice.

The moment came when the two men reached their table and the larger of the two scowled at Deeks but reached over him none the less. Deeks made his move, pulling the reaching arm further in causing the man to slightly lose balance, using the shock from being grabbed, Deeks took his left and knocked the guy's head into the table making him stumble backwards. Having the suspect dazed, Deeks grabbed the man's gun arm, locking his wrist causing him to drop his weapon and taking him to the ground within seconds, as he landed on the ground a swift punch from the Master Sergeant rendered him unconscious.

As Deeks pulled the man's arm, Kensi stood up, and quickly kicked the other robber's popliteal, forcing him down on one knee. She quickly placed another kick at the perpetrator's hand, also forcing him to lose his weapon. Having disarmed the man, she used her height advantage on him, manoeuvring past his shoddy defence and behind him to sink in a rear naked choke, leaving him unconscious in seconds as well.

Before he was able to register what had just happened to his two accomplices, the third, and last, robber found himself staring down the barrels of two Sig Sauer P229 E2s, the standard carrying weapons for the NCIS agents. Realizing that he was both outnumbered, out positioned, and outgunned, he laid down his own pistol in surrender. Deeks kicked away the weapon and kept his gun trained on him whilst Kensi phoned in the event to both LAPD and NCIS.

Thirty minutes later both LAPD and their teammates were on the scene, as protocol dictates when agents are involved in any type of crime. The three would have been robbers were cuffed and handed over to the officers on scene for processing.

"Sooo… what were you two doing here on a Sunday evening?" Callen asked.

Unsure of weather or not the team lead had picked up on the relationship they had, but not wanting to give anything away in case he had not, they looked at each other, silently agreeing to attempt to keep their status a secret in the event, that he did now have any knowledge of it yet.

Using his well-practiced humorous facade, Deeks answered first, "Pretty sure we were eating."

"You know what I meant." He shot back, no malice in his words, seemingly just curious, but perhaps an agenda of digging for information behind the questioning.

"He owed me dinner." Kensi lied easily.

"Yup. Lost a bet a few weeks back on who could eat a burger the fastest, and since we've been so busy the last few weeks, she didn't have a time to cash in on it until now." Deeks shrugged his shoulders, following up the lie, perfectly in sync with his partner.

Sam laughed at him, "You _know_ how Kensi eats, and you _still_ took the bet?"

"She doesn't eat, Sam. She devours food." Callen chimed in with the banter.

"Hey!" She attempted to protest, but knowing they were technically correct, she left it at that.

Her three co-workers just laughed at her half-hearted attempt at protesting, and followed her lead, leaving it at that. Both Callen and Sam appeared to be pleased with the answer they had been given as to why the two youngest members of the team were spending a Sunday evening together.

When they were finally finished with both giving and taking witness statements at the restaurant, it was just past eleven and the team said their goodbyes and 'see you tomorrows.' Seeing as they had driven there in Kensi's SRX, they both walked towards where they had previously parked.

Halfway between the car and the restaurant, Deeks realised that he had completely forgotten to pay for the meal they had just shared. Kensi tried to convince him that it would be just fine, but he was having none of it, and insisted on running back to quickly have that taken care of. She could only roll her eyes at him, when not undercover he was honest to a fault.

He returned not even five minutes later slightly out of breath, and told her what the manager had told him, that she had not only insisted on him _not_ paying, but also pushed that they were to come back and eat for free any time they wanted to. Happy that he made the right decision to go back, they made their way to the Cadillac and now found themselves in the parking lot outside Deeks' apartment, once more having her drop him off.

She looked almost sad when he reached for the handle to let himself out of the car, and he stopped in his tracks and turned towards her, gently lifting her chin with his index finger and thumb, "I had a really great weekend, Kens." He said softly.

That made her smile slightly, but it did not reach her eyes, "Yeah… me too."

"What's bothering you?" He nudged, able to read her expression flawlessly.

She sighed, "It's just that… I really hated having to lie to the guys tonight."

"Me too." He confessed, before gently moving his and to caress her cheek, "But I think it's important that we figure out _us_ ,before having to prove we can work together whilst being in a… before having them also judge us for having this… _thing_."

"I know, I know," she mumbled under her breath and moved her hand to where he was caressing her cheek and placed it over his. "I know we've agreed to take it slow, but… these last weeks haven't really let us have any time together outside of work and… and I kinda want us to progress a bit." She confessed shyly to him.

He, too, was feeling uncomfortable. They were finally able to air some of the thoughts they had regarding their relationship, partnership, whatever. Neither of them was very good at that, both so used to bottling up their emotions and dealing with them alone, and her confession left an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Deeks spoke up.

"Why don't you come in with me and spend the night?"

She just quirked her eyebrow at him, she _had_ spent the night at his place, the last two nights in fact.

He clarified, "The couch doesn't count. Why don't we sleep in my bed? Together. Just sleep."

She knew this was one of the next few logical steps they could take, but having him ask her directly had sucked out all remaining air in her lungs. When he noticed her being at a loss for words, he pushed gently, "You have your go bag in your car, and we can get up early tomorrow to go to your place to freshen up and change into new clothes before heading into work."

Considering his arguments she realised, that she really did not have any good, or even decent, reasons not to agree with what he was saying. "Okay," she finally agreed, barely above a whisper. The acceptance was enough to bring out the sight that was quickly becoming one of Kensi's favourite, his wide, joyous smile, and she suddenly felt such a confidence in him, in herself, in them. It would work out, whatever happened _they_ would work out.

Stepping out of the vehicle, she decided to bring back some of the banter that always seemed to take leave of absence whenever they were discussing their thing. " _Only_ sleeping, Deeks!" She faux threatened.

"I'll be the perfect gentleman, scouts honours!"

She bumped his shoulder and laughed at him, "You were never a boy scout, were you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and flashed his cheeky grin, "Doesn't mean I can't respect their honour system."

She could not do anything but laugh at his silly antics, a hearty, warm laugh that softened Deeks to the very core filling him with warmth beyond belief. He found himself pondering how he got to this exact moment, how he had become so lucky to find a woman like Kensi, who not only were amazing beyond any comprehension, but who could also understand, and appreciate, the military background that he had, and what he had been through. What he had been through, he got stuck at that part, because she really did not know exactly _what_ he had gone through. All his Special Operation Group missions were one thing, he did not have any qualms regarding those. No. Where he was nervous was regarding his childhood, knowing he would soon have to share his past with her, and just hope that she would still be able to look at him the same way as before.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Kensi gently leaned into him and wrapped one of her arms behind his back and the other around his midsection. Suddenly all his doubts about letting her into his past dissolved and he rejoiced in having her near him.

He closed the door behind them and they immediately started getting ready for sleep, both absolutely exhausted after a day of playing tourists combined with the adrenalin surge they had during the attempted robbery at the restaurant. He left her to get ready in the bedroom whilst he went to change in his bathroom.

A few minutes later and they were both lying in bed, he had made sure to leave ample space between them when he laid down keeping his word to be the perfect gentleman, but she had immediately scooted over to him and moved his arm over her midsection, making the choices for him. That was the best nights sleep they had both had in a very, very long time.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for the continous support, really do appreciate it! Any constructive criticism or ideas for the story is (as always) much appreciated! Hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

Waking up had never felt this _right_. The absolute bliss he felt waking up with the sleeping beauty that was Kensi Blye was indescribable. He contemplated his current situation, ah yes, starting the day lying on his back, with the woman you care the most about in the world snuggled into you, using your chest as a pillow. It does _not_ get much better than this, he thought to himself. If it were not for the fact that it was Monday, he would have been content with spending the entire day right here, just revelling in the comfort he felt.

But of course he could not have that, it was, after all, Monday, and they would have to get into work at some point. Remembering that they would have to drop by Kensi's place for her to get a change of clothes he attempted to separate himself from the tangled mess he was currently in, a welcome mess, but a mess none the less.

She woke up to the feeling of her pillow… moving? Why was her pillow, oh, Deeks! The memories flushed back of falling asleep in his embrace. An embrace she still felt around her, if she could bottle up one emotion to keep with her for all eternity, this exact feeling of absolute euphoria would be it. Feeling him shuffling once more, she hummed in contentment effectively stopping his movement.

She turned her head to face him, and he chuckled softly at her sleepy expression, he brushed her hair behind her ear and pressed his lips to her temple. "Good morning beautiful."

"Morning handsome," she giggled back.

"What just happened?" He asked incredulously, "Did Special Agent Kensi Blye just _giggle_?"

"I don't giggle!" She tried to defend, feigning a pout and buried her head into the crook of his neck, ultimately knowing he would see right through her.

As expected, he laughed at her poor attempt, "Right," he humoured her, "Just like you don't snore?"

This time he got a proper reaction as she quickly sat up glaring at him. "I do _not_ snore!"

He let out a hearty laugh, glad he was able to get a reaction from her, "You're right," he started, once more deciding to humour her, "It's more of a snort-snore." Remembering to include sound effects with the statement.

She tossed a pillow at him, but he just laughed as she closed the door to the bathroom behind her. When she got back out she attempted to seem irritated and annoyed, but her façade slipped quickly once she saw his breath-taking smile, and she found herself unable to stop smiling back at him.

...

After dropping by Kensi's place for a change of clothes they made their way towards the mission, making sure to stop for donuts on the way, since Deeks had not made breakfast that morning and knew better than to let his partner continue without sugar.

The team had no case, but after the incredibly busy last couple of weeks, paperwork was, for once, a welcome sight. There sure was _a lot_ of paperwork to catch up on, case reports and expense statements were just some of the things that had been neglected, seeing as the cases had been coming non-stop. When the day was finally over there were four somewhat relaxed, quite bored agents and one very pleased operations manager.

...

The next couple of days seemed to follow the template that the Monday had left. Loads of paperwork and no action certainly made a dent in the stacks of paper that had been piling on the four desks in the bullpen, but it did not do much in terms of giving the agents their much needed weekly dose of adrenalin.

Apparently, Friday had heard their silent prayers and decided to remedy the acute lack of action, starting very early. Both Kensi and Deeks were awoken from their slumbers, sleeping together Deeks' bed, strictly platonically, of course… for now. Both agents' phones chimed simultaneously, they untangled their limbs from one another and both answered, groggily.

Heading into the mission they decided to take their own vehicles since it would be _very_ difficult having to explain why they had been together at three in the morning on a weekday. Hetty had given Deeks a completely black Ford Expedition as an agency vehicle during the week, seeing as they finally had some down time to make all the arrangements and sign the necessary paperwork. He was extremely delighted with the choice of vehicle, seeing as he had requested one that would allow him to mount a surfboard rack if needed and that wish had been granted.

Arriving at the Office of Special Projects within minutes of each other, they immediately made their way to OPS, knowing that the rest of their team would be there already.

Walking into the technical room they were, as expected, met by the rest of their team, all donning similar grim expressions. "Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks, I'm sorry about the god awful hour, but as you may imagine we have a situation." She gestured towards the technical operator, letting Eric know to take the lead in the briefing.

"There's been a bombing at the US Navy recruitment center in South Los Angeles." He relayed the information in one breath. Whilst this was, obviously, incredibly bad news and certainly got the attention of the two youngest agents, they still seemed confused as to why anyone would attack such a location during night time when no one would be in the vicinity of the building. Perhaps that was a good thing, the perpetrator purposely _not_ endangering lives.

The line of thinking was shot to the ground when Nell continued the briefing, "We have received an audio file taking credit for the bombing, and threatening to blow up further buildings with military connections, this time with people inside, if their demands are not met."

Kensi noticed that Deeks stood up even straighter as if that was possible, his jaw increasingly tense during Nell's short briefing, his lips in a tight line. Not noticeable to everyone, but Kensi could easily see the changes in his demeanour. While Sam was usually hyper sensitive whenever a case revolved around SEALs, Deeks seemed to have the same in regards to these places.

"Play the audio tape please, Mr. Beale."

The audio file played, and they heard a distorted, electronically generated voice promising further attacks, guaranteeing loss of life, unless some specific prisoners were released and transported to a non-extradition country. The timeline was set at three in the afternoon, giving them just less than twelve hours to get to whoever was behind all of this.

"I want you four to go to the recruitment center. See if you can find anything that may be of assistance. SecNav wants us to work alongside Homeland and FBI, but we will have the lead seeing as it was a Navy building targeted. Please do play nice, and get to the bottom of this."

With the last words uttered, Hetty walked out of OPS, presumably down to her office to engage in a numerous amount of phone calls to orchestrate the investigation with the other agencies. As she had previously claimed, she does not move the chess pieces, she moves the board, and now was her time to prove that statement, moving entire agency investigations to establish a wide coverage of possibilities, ensuring the best possible chance at solving this before time runs out and another building is targeted, this time with potentially fatal consequences.

The agents made it to the scene of the explosion in two cars as per usual, Sam's Charger and Kensi's SRX. The LAPD were already on the scene and had, as protocol demands, established a one-block perimeter in all directions surrounding the building. The four agents were all waved through after showing their credentials.

The scene playing out in front of them could only be described as organised chaos. There was a staggering amount of initials present already, and more would be joining swiftly, LAPD, LAFD, NCIS, FBI, HLS, and ATF. Events like this was the ultimate test of inter-agency co-operation, but whilst that would usually be a problem, in these instances where terror and loss of civilian life was threatened, everyone seemed to 'play nice' and would cooperate to the best of their abilities, knowing what could be at stake.

Seeing as they were both trained in using explosives, Sam and Deeks went towards the building itself, waiting for the all clear from the bomb squad on scene. Callen and Kensi went to coordinate the efforts with agents from other agencies that had either already arrived or would very shortly.

Finally having the 'all clear' from the bomb squad, Sam and Deeks went to work trying to identify anything significant. They worked surprisingly well together, continuously bouncing ideas and theories off one another, and Sam found himself being thoroughly impressed with the depth of the knowledge their newest team member had.

The working theory they ended up with was a rather simple one, the perpetrator or perpetrators had smashed the window using a rock they had found on the scene, they would have then climbed through said window and placed their explosive device before leaving the scene and using either a timer or a remote detonator to set it off. Based on the approximated velocity of the blast, the explosives in question seemed to be a high-grade military standard, but they would have to wait on the ATF's analysis to be completely certain.

The team met up to reconvene as they called into OPS. Nell had been looking at all surveillance footage available. She was able to confirm that three guys smashed the front window with a rock just past two o'clock in the morning, setting off the alarm. One of them carried what looked to be a sports bag and went inside with it, a few minutes later he re-emerged without said bag, and five minutes later the building exploded. Eric had tried analysing the audio file, but had nothing tangible yet.

Whilst the camera footage confirmed Sam and Deeks' theory it also proved that this was no solo bomber, there was _at least_ three perpetrators involved, which suggested an organised group, and organised groups performing attacks on American soil usually meant one of two things, an extreme anarchist group or, what everyone was dreading, a terrorist group.

Upon reaching that conclusion Deeks spoke up, "I'll make a call, hopefully see if anyone knows anything that could help us," and walked away before anyone could ask him anything, leaving his team looking quizzically at his back.

"He's going to call who?" Sam asked no one in particular.

Kensi shrugged, honestly having no idea who might be on the other end of the phone call about to take place.

It was the team lead who chimed in, "Well, according to Hetty, he _was_ SOG for a while, I'm sure he still has some contacts in the agency."

The group seemed satisfied with that answer for the time being, and Callen and Sam went to brief the other representatives from the miscellaneous agencies on what they had uncovered, one of the many lovely 'advantages' of being a senior field agent. Leaving Kensi alone to wait for Deeks to finish his phone call to only god knows whom.

Sensing that the call was ending, Kensi walked towards her partner, catching the end of the conversation. "…Yes I'm in LA... Yeah the usual way. Alright thanks."

"Who was tha-" she managed to stop herself asking, when he raised his eyebrows at her, she sighed heavily, "I know, I know. I shouldn't ask…"

He chuckled at her rare ability to use self-restraint, even though her curiosity was sometimes getting the best of her when they were together, she _was_ getting better at not asking him about his time spent in the SOG.

"Okay, so…" Stretching out the last word, she continued, "Can I at least ask if you got any information we can use?"

"I think so," he said somewhat somberly, "But I'm not entirely sure, I'll have to meet someone to grab the information, he didn't want to tell me everything over the phone."

Kensi immediately picked up the underlying dark tone but decided that right now was neither the place nor time to ask. They walked together towards the two senior agents, who were still busy talking to, based on the suits, the FBI.

Sensing that their two teammates were approaching, Callen and Sam quickly finished off the conversation they were having and turned to face them. Deeks answered their question before they even had a chance to ask it. "We _might_ have something, but I need to pick up a file that may or may not confirm it."

"And let me guess," Callen started, "If it doesn't have anything to do with this, we won't hear about it."

Deeks sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a gesture that Kensi knew to be one of nervousness or when he was uncomfortable, "Yeah something like that," he mumbled.

Although annoyed over being left somewhat in the darkness, even if only momentarily, the team lead did understand the need for secrecy. Having been within the agency himself, he knew how they operated and understood the necessary confidentiality they sometimes required.

Having exhausted all the investigative alleys at the crime scene, the team headed back to the old Spanish mission. As they arrived only three of them went towards the entrance, Deeks excused himself stating that he would be meeting an 'acquaintance', and would aim to return within the next half hour.

The team, now missing Deeks, went up to OPS to see if Eric and Nell had managed to extract any further information from either the surveillance video or audio file. Unfortunately, because of the darkness on the video, the suspects had managed to hide their faces and the car they had driven there had been reported stolen the previous day. They had put a B.O.L.O. on the vehicle and as such would be notified the minute it was located.

Nell had been able to get something from the audio file. She had been able to figure out that the file was created using a free software program, and seeing as much freeware collected information from the users, the file had not only registered an all-night internet café as the place it was created but also had a timestamp for when it was created.

Callen immediately asked Eric to see if he could hack into their video surveillance footage, but it was not possible seeing as it was a closed system. As such, he and Sam rushed down the stairs to head towards the café to get access to the footage in an attempt to identify the man creating the file, knowing Eric would automatically send the address to their phones. Kensi stayed behind to wait for her partner to return, which would be any minute now.

She made her way down to tiny kitchen area just behind the bullpen, knowing Deeks would return soon, she put on a pot of coffee, so her partner would be able to satisfy some of his caffeine addiction when he returned. Kensi chuckled to herself at the thought, that man was mainlining caffeine like it was nothing.

"What's so funny?" An amused voice sounded behind her.

"Nothing!" She proclaimed just slightly too fast to be believable.

"Right," he dragged out the word, "I uhm, I got you coffee, but I see you've already taken care of that." She could not help but smile at him, of course her… _partner_ would be so thoughtful as to bring her coffee.

"Almond milk and sugar?" She asked, as he passed her one of the two beverages.

"Of course! Can't have you go down on sugar or caffeine now, can we?" He teased light heartedly. "Anyways I got the file," he waved a brown manila folder in front of her, "Let's go give it to Eric to see what's on it."

They both made their way upstairs, making sure to inhale their caffeinated drinks as fast as humanly possible since they knew they could not bring it into OPS. Somehow, Kensi managed to empty the hot drink before entering, where Deeks threw out the last part into the bin next to the automatic doors.

Inside the technical room they found Eric, Nell, and Hetty waiting. Not surprised that the tiny operations manager had known that he had returned with information already. Deeks went over and handed the manila folder to Eric, who opened it, pulled out the encased flash drive, and plugged it into their system to pull up the files on the screen in front of them.

The information on the big monitor showcased pictures and information about a local, LA terrorist cell with ties to a subgroup of Al Qaeda. When asked where he got the information from, Deeks answered that it was from any other agency than _the_ agency, seeing as they are only supposed to operate overseas and _not_ in The United States of America.

Unhappy that another agency had not informed them that there was a potential local terrorist cell operating in _their_ city, but still pleased that they now had a potential avenue of investigation to follow to prevent a likely bombing on another target, Hetty sent out Kensi and Deeks to the boatshed. After all, NCIS _had_ been adamant on the fact that _they_ were the lead agency in this case so the least they could do was to keep every other agency in the loop. She would have Eric send the address of one of the ones mentioned in the file Deeks had procured to Callen and Sam, and send the rest of them to the other agencies for them for surveillance.

...

As they arrived at the boatshed, the two partners were having one of their weird conversations, well Deeks was having a one-sided conversation and Kensi was doing her best to ignore him and his, in her mind, ridiculous antics.

"All I'm saying is that I know _why_ planets are in retrograde, like, I understand the explanation, but I'm just saying that it doesn't mean that bad things don't happen because of it as well."

She just continued walking away from the car, denying him any satisfaction of a reaction. If he had been able to see her eyes, he would have witnessed a perfect eye roll from his female partner. Luckily for Kensi, he stopped talking about retrograde whatever as they entered the boatshed and he became quiet, obviously still remembering the serious predicament in which they found themselves.

Half an hour later, and a handful of different agencies briefed, the two walked back out towards Kensi's SRX. During the briefing, it had been decided that they would simultaneously hit all the addresses known from the file in unison, leaving none of the places time to forewarn the others. Hopefully they would be able to find some evidence that proved that they were behind the attack and threats, if not they would lose valuable time, but at least have taken down a suspected terrorist cell stationed in Los Angeles.

Now even more determined and focused since they had a concrete plan that would likely prevent further attacks, they drove towards the mission. Kensi had called their team leader during the briefing and Hetty had been on the monitor in the boatshed, so everyone was up to speed as to what was going to happen.

Kensi and Deeks were to head back to OSP and get the gear for both themselves as well as their two colleagues, and then they would meet up where Callen and Sam were currently stationed, surveilling the suspected terrorist filled building.

As they arrived at the old Spanish mission, Kensi and Deeks quickly grabbed the bulletproof vests as well as the weapons they would be using for the operation. Not even five minutes later they were headed out towards the location Eric had sent to their phones, ready to, hopefully, end any further bombings on LA grounds.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I have found myself increasingly busy in real life as well as completely immersed in the other story that I am currently working on (Minerva Precisions).**

 **I will continue this story, but I will be doing it in my own time, meaning that the uploads will be few and far between unfortunately, since my primary focus is on the MP story currently. Hope you'll be understanding.**

 **Thank you for the support this story has received, it is indeed mind boggling that there are so many awesome people out there! Thank you!**

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Eric and Nell were incredibly busy, being the interconnecting link between the different raid groups were a task and a half on its own, and Granger grumble behind them that it was not all up and running yet, even though not all teams were at the ready was definitely not helping either. Luckily for the two technical wizards, Hetty was also in the room, reeling in the assistant director, chastising him for not leaving them alone to let them concentrate on their task at hand.

Kensi and Deeks pulled in behind the dark Dodge Challenger where they knew Callen and Sam would be sitting, overlooking the address where, hopefully, the potential attackers behind the morning's bombing would be.

It was not the greatest viewpoint of the place, but given that they would be raiding it within the next half hour, Sam had pulled back around and parked even further down the street at the corner, in order for them to be able to exit the vehicle and put on the tactical gear out of view of the building.

Kensi and Deeks stayed in their vehicle, whilst standard practice would be for the people arriving to leave their vehicle and enter the already parked one, the team had, from previous jobs, decided against that, seeing as how Sam's car was only a three door one, it did not lend itself to that. It would be a sight to behold for one agent to have to leave the vehicle in order to push his seat forward only to have two other agents slide in behind him, before pushing his seat back and reentering. No. It was just a lot simpler to use the silver SRX currently parked behind them.

So, adhering to their own standard operating procedure, Callen and Sam exited the vehicle once they saw their two teammates pulling up behind them, and got into the rear of the silver Cadillac.

"The gear is in the back." Deeks greeted them, getting straight to business. "Have you seen anything out of the ordinary here?"

"No one coming or going, can't see inside since they have blinds on all windows." The quick briefing sounded from the former navy SEAL.

"Alright, let's gear up," Callen added, wanting to be ready to strike as soon as every other group was ready.

Sam and Callen quickly and quietly strapped into their vests, checked the weapons, and started getting into position. As the four agents neared the house, they got the all ready through the earwigs, and Callen reported back that they were 'green to go'. A few moments later they got the go ahead from the central command, in this case Hetty.

Kensi and Deeks had quickly split off when the all ready sounded, making their way behind the building, ensuring that they would stop anyone trying to escape as well as securing multiple points of entry, as standard procedure dictated.

At the go ahead, Kensi tapped her partner once on the shoulder, the universal signal to move. He easily kicked in the door, but was immediately forced to retreat to the safety of the thick outer wall they were stationed at previously. A hail of bullets and shouting had erupted from the, now open, backdoor. They knew that was a positive scenario, as it would hopefully provide a much easier breach from the front, and just as that thought passed through their mind, they heard the recognizable gunfire of their teammates weapons.

Taking Callen and Sam's entrance as their cue to reenter, they quickly stacked at the door, at Kensi's tap, Deeks once more entered and this time the targets were much more distracted. Deeks quickly double tapped the two men who were looking in their direction, instantly dropping them to the ground.

Two gunshots from behind Deeks sounded right after, and a third guy went down, Kensi having gotten the better of him, covering her partners back. A quick glance back at her and a nod let her know his thanks, and after kicking away the pistols from their downed opponents, they were ready to further clear the house.

Whilst that was going on, shots were still heard from the front entrance, and as such, the two made their way towards it in order to provide support for their colleagues. Deeks flung the submachine gun around onto his back and drew his pistol since they were going into a more cramped space as they were entering a hallway compared to what had seemed to be the living room they had just cleared.

They were walking through the narrow hallway when a door on their left flung open and a man took a step into the hallway, his weapon aimed straight at the former SOG agents' chest. Deeks quickly managed to grab the gun pointed in his direction, and forced it towards the ceiling barely getting it out of harms way before bullets erupted from it. Whilst struggling with his left hand to keep the gun firmly pointed skywards, he fired off two rounds into the man's midsection using his other hand. The struggle quickly turned one sided as the bad guy immediately succumbed to the fatal wounds.

They met up with Callen and Sam who had taken down two shooters themselves, and together they cleared the remaining rooms in the run down estate. After the 'all clear' had been given by the team lead, the four of them gathered in the back room that Kensi and Deeks had first cleared.

After moving some male magazines that were laying on the table in the room they found countless brochures from various government recruitment buildings, a few Navy ones as well as Army and Air Force was present. The presence of the various flyers confirmed that the group Deeks' source had put on their radar was, indeed, the one behind the attack on the US Navy recruitment center.

Even though they had all been connected through their earwigs, Callen stepped out of the room to properly brief their operations manager and in turn be briefed on how the other teams had fared with the simultaneous breaches. Nell made sure all the teams' leaders were directly connected with OPS to properly plan the next course of action.

When he came back a few minutes later he relayed what he had just been told, that out of the six other teams who had all breached different addresses, three had encountered resistance which they had terminated without any ally injuries. Those same three teams had found different information on recruitment centers such as opening hours and one of the teams even found a map of downtown Los Angeles with the locations of some of said centers mapped onto it.

All in all twelve men had been taken down across the four different addresses, none were able to be taken alive, which left the team in need to find any physical evidence that might point out either exactly _what_ the next target was, or any documents, messages, or electronic trails that might be able to tell them who and how many were a part of the local terrorist cell.

None of the teams had found any indications that explosives or bomb making components had been present at any of the sites visited, which meant that they were missing at least one address where they had made the explosive device used at the recruitment center earlier.

Since the building was now cleared of hostiles, the agents went over the place in a more thorough fashion, looking for anything that might give them a lead to follow. In the end they had found two laptops, an external hard drive, as well as a bunch of scribbles in what seemed to be Arabic.

Since LAPD and crime techs had already been called to the address, they decided that their best cause of action would be to return to Eric and Nell in OPS with the electronics. As such the four agents found their way to their vehicles and headed back out into LA traffic.

Eric and Nell had been working vehemently on the two laptops and the external hard drive that the team had brought back to The Office of Special Projects, the result was that just under an hour after the agents had generously brought the technological gifts to the technical operator and analyst, they now had a list of fifteen names in total as well as two additional addresses.

The identification of the men had been left to the auxiliary technical staff that had been called into work, which was procedure in case of any potential terrorist attack. The men whom had already been identified had been American born citizens, but with ties to either extremist websites or suspected Islamist sympathizers. They had also been able to identify the three additional men the laptops had unveiled, three men whom had been recorded entering Los Angeles not even a week ago from The United Arab Emirates. Facial recognition had identified two of them as former Al Qaeda members, confirming the information that Deeks had procured from his 'friend', that there indeed was a connection to a subgroup of the well-known terrorist organization.

Armed with the newly found intelligence, the team quickly gulped down their remaining drops of coffee, and hastily made their way towards the armory to once again gear up for a raid. They now had two more addresses that could potentially either house the three newly discovered men with terrorist ties or be the place where the first bomb had been manufactured.

They were almost fully geared when a tiny brunette quietly entered the room unbeknownst to anyone.

She cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the four trained agents, "I have just spoken with the associate deputy director of the FBI. They are going to be in charge of the raid on the address we are _not_ going to."

"Which of the addresses do you want us to hit then, Hetty?" Sam inquired.

"You'll be going to the address in South LA, agent Hanna." The assistant director whom had just joined them in the armory said in his gruff voice. "I have taken the liberty to contact both ATF and the LAPD bomb squad to be at the ready at both locations, ready whenever you have cleared the building."

It was not often that Granger chimed in on their missions, and when he did it usually involved some unwelcomed agenda of his. This time, however, it seemed like he was just focused on the task at hand, no hidden agendas, no politics nor cloak and dagger stuff. Just like it happened with the inter agency cooperation whenever any possible terror threats emerged, the assistant director too was feeling the pressure to solve the problem, thus putting any differences he had with the team aside in order to help in any way he could.

"Appreciate it, assistant director," Callen thanked the older man.

"Just try to keep one of them alive this time for questioning," he requested, knowing that stopping the group was one thing, but in order to find out who financed and planned it would be made easier by tenfold if they had a suspect to interrogate.

"We'll do our best," the team lead nodded in his direction, and with those parting words, the team of agents made their way towards the address they had been given by Eric, and hopefully made their way towards the end of the terror threat looming over Los Angeles.

Even with the Los Angeles traffic, the team arrived just a block away from their target in record time. Already geared up in the armory, they all did a one-over of the equipped gadgets, weapons, and protective gear before exiting the large SUV they had driven.

As they were making their way towards the inconspicuous building, they got the confirmation through their earwigs that the FBI tactical team was standing by at the secondary location, ready to breach and enter as well.

A minute later they had tactically approached the front and back door, splitting up with their usual partners. Callen let their tiny operations manager know that they were 'status green', and a few seconds later they got the order to execute.

Simultaneously Deeks and Sam kicked in the back and front door respectively, their partners tossed in their prepared flashbangs, hoping that the inclusion of stun grenades would help ensure the successful capture of anyone who might be inside.

The sound of the stun grenades going off was their cue to enter.

After a thorough search of the inside they found loads of equipment needed in the manufacturing of explosive devices, but unfortunately there had not been any enemy combatants at the residence. They would have to wait for the final 'all clear' from the FBI's tactical team in order to know if there had been anyone present at that residence before knowing if they had any suspects to interrogate.

After a few minutes, Callen made his excuse to leave the building, wanting to attempt to gain any information as to how the second raid had went as well as wanting to let ATF and the bomb squad know that the 'all clear' had been given.

Kensi was busy photographing anything that might be of importance, whilst Sam and Deeks were going over all the different components in the building, trying to determine exactly what kind of bomb they could be expecting.

Based on the components that the two explosives experts had found it seemed increasingly likely that the explosive they had been used was a common variety of plastic explosives, most likely Composition C-4. That would coincide with their previous assumptions earlier in the day when the two had gone over the blast at the naval recruitment center.

Kensi walked back into the room where Sam and Deeks were in the middle of a discussion about explosives whilst they were going over the inventory present at the scene.

"I'm just saying that the fact that it's unable to detonate from anything but a shock wave from a detonator is not always a plus." Deeks argued.

"And why is that?" The larger agent inquired, "I'd say not accidentally blowing yourself up is a pretty big plus."

"That's true," the former SOG agent concurred, "But if you're decoupled with the detonator you can't improvise with fire or a gunshot," he shrugged.

"You speaking from experience?" Kensi half asked half stated, unable to stop her curiosity. She knew that he hated being questioned about his past missions, especially ones where it had not gone according to plan.

"Something like that," the mumbled response sounded.

Able to deduce from the sound of his voice that this was a particular sore subject, Kensi quickly decided to change the subject back to the problem at hand.

"So what have you found?"

She received a slight smile of appreciation from her partner.

"It seems they've been using high grade explosives, most likely C-4." Sam explained quickly.

"Alright, I'll go make a call to Nell. See if there has been any C-4 reported stolen anywhere within the last month," Kensi stated.

"I'll join you, see if G. has gotten any information," he followed the female agent before turning back to the other man, "Will you be alright in here for a minute or two Deeks?"

"I'll try not to blow myself up," he laughed at the larger agent, who just shook his head at him also unable to contain a smile.

Sam joined his two teammates outside the building by the road, Callen had collected their SUV during his conversation with their operations manager and was now leaning against it, still deep in conversation with the tiny woman.

"Hey G. you got anyth-" he was interrupted by a huge blast from behind him, the combination of the shockwave and surprise knocking him over.

Kensi, too, had been knocked over from the unexpected shockwave emerging from the house. When she got past her momentary confusion she looked around able to see Callen, Sam, and… no one else. Dread overtook every inch of her body as she put two and two together, reasoning that the man she had come to care a great deal about would be somewhere amongst the rubble.

The blood running through her veins turned to ice and she was suddenly shivering despite it being noon with the sun high in the sky, shining warm and brightly. She wrapped her arms around her core, attempting to warm herself or hug herself she knew not. The only thing able to comfort her was seeing the man who was currently beneath the large pile of debris in front of her, the state of the man she had no idea of, but prayed that he would miraculously still be alive unable to accept anything else.

The though of the man who had so quickly broken through her emotional barriers caused her shiver to worsen, choking back a sob as her entire body felt stuck in time, frozen. Inwardly she found her thoughts drifting as she cursed herself for taking it so slow with the man, even though he had wanted to do it as well. Her thoughts drifting over what she might never have the opportunity to do everything she wanted with him, and everything she would miss. Playing tourists in their own city. Their shared, sweet kisses. Waking up next to him… everything.

Sam had quickly regained his senses, and upon hearing Callen calling for help over the phone, he rushed to the female agent to ensure her wellbeing.

"Callen has called an ambulance, help is on the way." He stated somberly, knowing that any scenario was likely grim.

"Marty's in there," she broke a sob, her emotional state letting her show weakness in front of the large man she had come to consider her elder brother, who in response to her words pulled her into a tight hug as she buried her head into his strong chest.

As Marty regained consciousness the thick particles and dust in the air entering his lungs causing him to start coughing, the action creating great pain through his entire midsection and head. He tried to look down himself as he forced his eyes open, but all he could see was darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: The support on this story has been absolutely mind blowing (MP too)! I appreciate it immensely.** **I know that I said it would take more time between writing these chapters, but we really couldn't let Deeks stay burried beneath a house for too long, right? Anyways, this chapter is a bit lackluster in action, but I hope that you'll be able to enjoy it nonetheless.**

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Lying between the cold rubble, his senses slowly started to return to him once more, albeit more foggily than what he was used to. His mind was still a blur, no doubt thanks to the throbbing headache he currently had. Great, at the very least he was guaranteed a concussion, he reasoned, eyes still closed shut in a feeble attempt to control the pain.

After a few moments of shortened breaths, he was able to focus further down his body, he knew both from his training as well as from previous experiences, that it could be of upmost importance to establish which injuries he currently had. The first step would at least have to be to open his eyes, as such he attempted to lift heavy eyelids, slowly opening his eyes as his vision slowly adjusted to the lack of light as well as the dust currently around him.

He was able to move his head, much to the dismay of the pounding in his head. First left, slowly rotating his neck until he felt a tightening stretch, repeating the process to the right, and finished off by successfully attempting to nod up and down. As he nodded downwards he felt some trickling from his forehead, most likely stemming from a cut or gash, nothing to do about that now. When he was satisfied that he had full mobility of his neck he allowed himself a breath of relief.

Moving on with the self-assessment, he moved his right arm, although not a lot of space to move around in, he did find that he had full mobility of his shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers. Continuing with the left arm he attempted to roll his shoulder like he had the other one, immediately regretting that decision as pain shot out from the problematic area, and travelled discomforting all the way down his spine, causing him to groan loudly. Best-case scenario a dislocated shoulder, he thought to himself as he attempted to stabilize his breathing. Under other circumstances, he instantly would have known that it was definitely a more comprehensive injury than a simple dislocation, but his splitting headache was clouding his rationale.

In his blunderous state, he continued to assess his left arm as he had his right, attempting to bend his elbow, causing pain to erupt once more, causing him to cuss as loud as possible, as the profanities was mainly absorbed by the thick air. Add a broken arm to the list of injuries as well, he thought.

After his breathing had somewhat normalized after his mistake, he let his right hand drift carefully over his torso, where he felt a few localized spots where his shirt was soaked. He tried looking at his hand, but was unable to identify the crimson liquid visually because of the lack of light, although unable to visually confirm it, his logic correctly dictated it to be his own blood. He continued searching for injuries using his hand, and was pretty sure that his ribs had taken a pounding if the soreness was anything to go by. Seeing as the only other injuries he could have on his torso would be internal, he stopped assessing his upper body, not wanting to waste any precious time.

Although the dust and particles that had previously clouded the surrounding air was starting to settle, his vision was getting increasingly hazy, and he knew that darkness was trying to envelop him, wanting to pull him into a deep slumber of unconsciousness. Instead of welcoming the alluring numbness that unconsciousness would no doubt bring, he forced himself to focus on finishing his self-assessment.

He attempted to move both his legs, but found that he was unable to do so. He pushed himself up, as much as he could in the tight space, even though he made sure only to use his right arm, the pain erupting from his midsection was almost unbearable, forcing yet another weak grunt from him. He was incapable of seeing anything past his midsection, what seemed to be a rather large wooden crossbeam lying on top of him. He lowered his upper half back down to rest, knowing that any attempt at moving the large piece lumber alone and in his state would be futile. Instead he tried listening to his body for any distinct pain coming from his lower body, he deemed that task impossible as his whole body was now screaming in pain, and as he was unable to feel anything specifically from his legs he let out a shaky breath.

Just as he was ready to finally allow the darkness to take him away from his rubbly tomb, he heard some white noise coming from his right ear. At first he dismissed it as being another side effect of the concussion he was certain he suffered, but the white noise slowly turned clearer and started sounding distinctly like… Kensi?

He tried to focus on the blur of sound, still unable to decipher what she is saying. Realization hit, that he was hearing her through his earwig, which was still somehow lodged in his ear. Praise technology he thought, as he reached for it with his right hand. By some means his uncoordinated fidgeting with the device worked as the incomprehensible sound slowly turned clearer until he heard her voice, "Deeks? Can you hear me?"

The relief he felt upon hearing her voice was immeasurable, even though panic was seeping through her words, the calming effect of hearing the voice of the woman he cared the most about was incredible.

...

After leaving the embrace of Sam, she found herself unable to look anywhere but the place where the house had stood not even three minutes ago, now only a pile of rubble were in its place.

Emotions were wreaking havoc in her mind, unable to settle on a single feeling. Helplessness, numbness, fear, and despair were at the forefront as she continued staring at the place she knew she could not go to, yet the only place she wanted to be.

A noise pulled her out of her melancholia, shaking her head to fully focus once more. She tried identifying the strange sound, unable to do so as she heard what she would later realize to have been mumbled profanities.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to better focus. Now hypersensitive to the sounds she was hearing, she _definitely_ heard another groan… Deeks! She had not even considered that his communication device might have survived the blast, she had been too disoriented right after the blast and then blinded by despair. Upon hearing his voice she was filled with new clarity and hope, if she could hear him coughing, it meant that he was alive. Thank God and every other deity _he was alive_.

Immediately she started calling out for him through her own earwig. The desperation she had previously felt was creeping back in, pushing away her newfound positivity as her pleads for him to respond was going unanswered.

After what felt like an eternity her determination was finally rewarded, when she heard his strained and hoarse voice making it barely audible, "Kens?"

"I'm here Marty, I'm here." She consciously used his first name. She had previously made a point to always use 'Marty' when they were off work, and although they were technically at work, she reasoned that the emotions _that_ name carried would probably reach him better. Although she tried staying strong for him, her voice cracked halfway through her reassurance giving away her own worry.

"S'ok," he responded sounding incredibly dozy.

She knew he was losing his battle to consciousness and without knowing any of his injuries, she was unable to figure out the reasoning behind it. It could be one of numerous things, a concussion, blood loss, or even internal bleeding, each option worse than the previous one. She needed to know, try to keep him talking until the rescue she could her approaching would be able to get him out.

"Help's on the way." She reassured him before asking, "Do you know how bad you're injured?" She was internally begging that he had not already lost his battle and succumbed to oblivion yet.

There was a long break from when she had asked until he finally responded, his words even more slurred than previously. "Not sure… how bad my legs." He started fumbling in his sentence and continued only in a simpler fashion, "Torso hurt… Arm bad… Head hurt."

"It's okay, you'll be okay," she reassured him, knowing that it might be a very hollow promise.

"Kens?" He asked, even quieter than before.

"I'm still here," she consoled after pushing past the lump that had formed in her throat.

"I think 'm gonna," he cut off his own sentence.

"You're going to what?" She asked, feeling increasingly nervous at his lack of coherence.

A silence that felt like an eternity for Kensi followed, as she received no answer.

"You're going to _what_?" She repeated more forcefully, tears stinging in her eyes as she feared that he was unable to hear her.

"Gonna sleep," he whispered hoarsely, only audible because of the female agent's adrenaline driven, hypersensitive hearing.

That was the last she heard from him, just before the emergency services arrived. No more than five minutes had passed from when the building first collapsed.

She tried calling out for him continuously, before finally accepting that he had lost his battle to unconsciousness. Kensi turned around, bewildered at no longer being in contact with the man she lo-, in contact with the man she cared greatly about. She was having a hard time controlling her emotions, feeling sick to her stomach, and was blinking rapidly to keep any tears at bay.

Her mind was racing with all sorts of worst-case scenarios once again, had he bled out or succumbed to internal injuries or… she stopped her train of thought, recollecting what Deeks had told her when she had inquired about his injuries. Head hurt, well of course his head would hurt, but a nasty headache could well be a sign of a concussion, that _had_ to be it she reasoned, all other possibilities were so much worse and therefore unacceptable and unthinkable.

Shaking her head to reel her back in, she decided that a distraction was needed before her mind started running rampant again. She looked for her coworkers, hopeful that they would have any information to keep her mind occupied for at least a little while, whilst her partner was still buried beneath the rubble.

Callen was busy speaking with someone on the phone, probably bringing the unfortunate news to Hetty, she thought.

Sam was talking to what looked to be the bomb squad, whom were already geared up to begin the clearing the area of any possible explosives that had not yet detonated, Granger having made sure that they were on standby. She was thankful that their assistant director had actually done something she deemed useful instead of merely scrutinizing their team for once.

She started walking the short distance towards the ex-Navy SEAL, not having realized that she had unconsciously moved closer towards where her partner was buried when she was calling out for him. She reached Sam just as he parted ways with the bomb squad personnel.

"They're going to quickly sweep the area before fire and rescue can start trying to get to him," he quickly briefed his struggling friend, having noticed that she was emotional to the point of being unrecognizable to him. Kensi Blye did _not_ do feeling, especially not with her coworkers. Sam decided to put that away for now, hopefully able to return to it later upon his teammates' full recovery.

She just nodded in response to his short briefing, unable to push past the lump that had formed in her throat.

Standing next to Sam, she watched the trained professionals sweep the area for any further explosive dangers. She felt rooted in place, as she was incapable of looking anywhere but where the man she cared the most about was buried, the knowledge that she was unable to do anything to help was excruciating.

A loud siren coming to a halt signaled the arrival of an ambulance, realizing that the information she had received through her earwig moments ago might be of importance to them, she slowly made her way to the EMTs standing by behind the red and white vehicle.

She told them about the injuries the man in question had told her about, his head, torso, and arm, which he had stated was either 'hurt' or 'bad'. She also informed them about the shallowness of his breaths that she had picked up on, as well as the hoarse and low voice in which he had spoken before drifting off. The emergency medical technicians assured her, that the information was very useful and the two started readying oxygen alongside other equipment that might be needed once they had found their patient between the rubble.

After exhausting her distraction, Kensi was once again left to wait for fire and rescue, whom was just now starting to get access to the site.

Time dragged on as each minute passing felt like an hour, and she was starting to feel increasingly worried once more. She could not tell if they had made any progress at all, until a large piece of lumber was moved and a mop of dusty, unruly hair grabbed her attention, and everything suddenly seemed to move at warp speed.

A stretcher was quickly brought in among the rubble the people were working on, as the EMTs and rescue workers gathered around the injured body, moving away any debris on top of him as well as clearing a path to safely move the injured man.

Soon after they were hastily carrying the unconscious form of Marty Deeks towards the waiting ambulance, he was donning a neck brace and was strapped securely to the spine board supporting his weight.

Quickly removing her vest and automatic weapon before handing it over to Sam, Kensi was by Deeks' side the moment he arrived at the ambulance. She jumped into the back of the vehicle without anyone questioning her, knowing to make sure to keep out of the way of the EMTs as they were working efficiently and diligently on him.

Only after he was hooked up to the mobile data terminal and the ambulance was finally moving did she allow herself the small comfort of touching the pale form of the man whom she cared the most about, making sure not to touch his clearly swollen and broken arm nearest her or get in the way of the EMT, she settled for a hand softly placed on this thigh.

Time once again crept along as her gaze carefully studied Deeks' body, mentally cataloging every minor and major injury she could see. He was enveloped in a layer of dust, and the paleness of him stood out in stark contrast to his usual sun kissed skin. Hopefully his lack of color was an attribute of a concussion and not blood loss, although most likely a combination of both, she though, having noted the large gash on his shoulder as well as how crimson red color stained his now tattered shirt and jeans. She prayed that it was only superficial injuries, although she knew to expect differently.

...

Upon arriving at the hospital, Deeks was quickly wheeled through the automatic doors and into the building. Kensi was following hot on their heels, but was refused further access when they turned down the corridor leading to the operating theater.

She was now standing alone, staring through the automatics doors that had unceremoniously closed in front of her, effectively cutting her off from any contact or information about _her_ _man_.

She blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay, a few slipping down her cheeks as she started failing the battle with her emotions. Alongside the tears, she also started feeling droplets of sweat forming on her forehead, her hands starting to feel clammy as she continuously caressed her forearms in a feeble attempt to calm her nerves. Grinding her teeth in anxious worry, she started impatiently pacing in front of the doors that had closed only moments ago.

A brave nurse approached the obviously perturbed woman and introduced herself as nurse Natalie. Kensi allowed herself a sad smile at the alliteration, Marty would have enjoyed that tidbit she thought, before tuning back into what the blonde nurse was saying. She suggested that Kensi might be more comfortable in the designated waiting room, only succeeding in leading the distraught brunette to the room after having assured her, that she knew what patient she was with, and promised that she would come find her _as soon as_ she had _any_ information.

In the waiting room, Kensi again found herself pacing, walking aimlessly from one end of the smallish room to the other, only to turn back around and continue the nervous charade.

Vibrations stemming from her pocket stopped her aimless pacing as she pulled out her phone. She cleared her throat before accepting the call, her operations manager did not need to know how distraught she really was, although knowing Hetty, she probably would have already figured out the change in status between her two agents.

"How are you doing, Ms. Blye?" The elder woman asked sympathetically.

"I'll be okay as soon as he is," Kensi answered honestly.

"I know, dear." Hetty responded kindly, confirming that she did indeed know about them. She then started getting to business, "You will stay at the hospital and update the team once you know anything. I have been in contact with the director of emergency services at the hospital and have been assured they have their chief surgeon and best staff working on our Mr. Deeks. Once he wakes up he will be given a private room."

"Thank you, Hetty." She had known that it had been a possibility, that she would not be allowed to stay given the time sensitive terrorist threat currently looming, as such hearing her operations manager give her the permission to stay close to the man she cared deeply about came as a huge relief. Also the fact that the tiny woman seemed certain that he would wake up somehow calmed Kensi, Hetty was very rarely wrong after all.

"Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will continue to work alongside the FBI to get to the bottom of this. The tactical team our cousins in the bureau sent out apprehended a man, whom we believe to be one of the three remaining from the list Mr. Beale procured. An exact ID is still being waiting to be confirmed, but they believe him to be Abdul-Shahid Tahan a former high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda."

The short briefing came with mixed feelings, yes it was great that NCIS and her teammates would continue to work the case, but she would not be there to back them up, not that her being there had helped out Marty, she sighed deeply at the depressing thought.

The fact that they had captured the man who was possibly one of the masterminds behind the two attacks was obviously positive, although she knew from experience how difficult it could be to make radical terrorists talk. Hopefully they would be able to break Tahan and prevent any other planned attacks.

"Who will be questioning Tahan?" She asked, knowing that Sam might be the best shot they had, given he had visited most Arabic speaking counties, that combined with his language capabilities and his thorough knowledge of Muslim culture made him the best chance they had to get the former Al-Qaeda member to talk.

"Upon my request, Mr. Tahan will be transported to the boatshed, where Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will be leading the interrogation." Hetty assured her, confirming that she, too, had thought about it.

"Alright, that's good… are you _sure_ you don't need me for anything?" She was getting nervous, knowing what could be at stake. Even though she would prefer to stay at the hospital for obvious reasons, she knew that her skills might be needed in the field.

"I assure you, Ms. Blye, that you are exactly where you need to be." Hetty affirmed, trying to calm her agent. "I need to make another phone call, I expect you to call me the minute anything develops with Mr. Deeks."

"I will, thanks Hetty."

...

Kensi was getting increasingly restless, although she had finally settled into one of the uncomfortable white plastic chairs, her knee was still bouncing, giving away the stress she was currently feeling.

If nurse Natalie did not soon get her rear in gear, she would find her and force her to work double time, she thought as her patience had finally dwindled towards nothingness. A few minutes later she was unable to stay sitting in the chair and stood up to start pacing around once more. Just as Kensi rose from her seat, the door opened and the woman in question stood in front of her.

"Family of Mr. Deeks," she called out into the room, making sure that she was following hospital protocol. She made sure to have eye contact with Kensi, silently telling her that she kept her promise.

Kensi walked up to the nurse and took a deep breath, readying herself for the update on the man she held dearest.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry about the long time between uploading this chapter. I struggled a bit with describing his injuries to my satisfaction, and hopefully I ended up with it being realistic. Again, no real action in this chapter, and even less tension than the previous one, but we couldn't just skip over the hospital visit, right? Anywho, as always, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Nurse Natalie looked at the anxious woman in front of her. She knew that she had promised to come with any information as soon as she received it, and now she was keeping that promise. Considering the circumstances, the prognosis was actually pretty decent, nevertheless the nurse knew, that she was about to mention a whole plethora of different injuries, and that was never easy for anyone, especially not someone who seemed as close to the victim as the beautiful brunette seemed to be with the injured man.

"Mr. Deeks has-" Nurse Natalie started before she was interrupted.

"Agent Deeks," she was corrected somewhat rudely.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Nurse Natalie truthfully told the distraught woman. Years of working in the emergency ward had hardened her skin, and she knew that most all of the harsh tones and words were not directed at her, but the situation in general. She continued again, this time using the correct title. "Agent Deeks has suffered numerous injuries, which he is currently being treated for. He suffered a minor splenic rupture that was causing some internal bleeding, which is the reason why he was rushed into emergency surgery. Chief surgeon Bernier and his team were able to repair the damage caused to his spleen."

Kensi was standing mute, she had known that Deeks bleeding internally was a very real possibility, but hearing it said out loud made it feel so much worse. Nurse Natalie sympathetically looked at the woman, and upon receiving a slight nod, she continued.

"We believe his loss of consciousness was caused by a combination of blood loss caused by the internal bleeding and the head injury he sustained. Mr. Dee-, sorry, Agent Deeks is currently having a MRI taken to determine the level of injury, but we are hopefully optimistic."

Receiving another nod from Kensi, silently telling the nurse that she understood, Natalie continued.

"He seems to have a broken fibula on his left leg, as well as extensive damage to his left shoulder and arm. We will be taking Agent Deeks to have x-rays taken of both, once we have established his level of head trauma. He also seemed to have at least two cracked ribs and a number of bruised ones, but once again, we will need to wait for the x-rays to confirm. Alongside that, he sustained a number of superficial injuries, the most significant a gash on his head and a few on his torso, which will be needing stiches."

Kensi logically knew that there would have been many different injuries varying in severity, but right now, she started feeling somewhat overwhelmed. She let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding, forcing herself to focus on the positive things. He was alive and they had fixed his internal bleeding, but she doubted she would feel very calm before knowing the _exact_ extent of the injury to his head.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Natalie continued.

"But right now our priority is ensuring that Agent Deeks' head injury is examined. The repair done to his spleen will be monitored closely to ensure he no longer has any bleedings internally."

"When will I be able to see him?" Kensi asked, finally finding her voice again after pushing past the lump that had formed in her throat

"We first need to determine the extent of his head trauma. As I said before, we are hopefully optimistic, and hope that there is no swelling, and we are looking at a concussion and nothing more severe. If that's the case, Agent Deeks will be transported to radiology to have x-rays taken of his injuries. After that, he should be transported to a private room, where his condition will be monitored. You will be able to stay with him in there."

Natalie was watching the emotionally exhausted woman in front of her, giving her time to work through all the information she had just been given.

Kensi finally asked once more, "You said the damage to his arm and shoulder was extensive."

"I did," Natalie nodded, confirming what the woman asked, but unsure where this line of questioning was going.

"Won't he need surgery for that as well?"

"He will most likely have to undergo orthopedic surgery, yes, but that won't be until a little later," the nurse calmly explained, somewhat impressed that the woman was thinking that clearly and that far ahead in her current state. When the brunette continued to look quizzically at her, she further explained, "He needs to wait at the very least until he has fully recovered from the anesthesia from his emergency surgery. And then we need to wait for the orthopedic team, which needs to be available."

"Okay," Kensi finally answered after a minute of silence, "Will you-"

"I'll personally come down as soon as you are able to see him," Natalie promisingly smiled at the brown-haired woman.

"Thank you," Kensi attempted a smile at the older woman.

Natalie left the same way she entered, once again leaving Kensi to wait alone with her thoughts. At least this time she knew the extent of the injuries, which the most important man in her life had sustained. Even though her nerves and fear was clouding her rational mind, she had cataloged all the information she had been given in the back of her head.

She took a deep breath before slowly starting to pace once more, she always felt like she was thinking clearer when she was moving, and she needed to figure out how to tell Hetty what the kind nurse had just told her.

Her thoughts went back to the previous conversation she had had with their operations manager, and remembered how her superior was hinting at already knowing the relationship between her and Deeks. She was somewhat thankful about the tiny woman's knowledge about their relationship, since that would make the phone call a lot easier, as it meant not having to fully hide her emotions from her boss.

After a few more deep breaths, the female agent pulled out her phone and pressed the speed call for Hetty, keeping her promise to keep the team updated. Before the line was picked up she thought about the case and was hopeful, that the team would have gotten a lead from the ex-Al-Qaeda member, Abdul-Shahid Tahan.

The call was short and to the point. Kensi gave the operations manager the bullet points on the status of her agent, but she received no updates in return, as there were none for the tiny woman to give. Callen and Sam were still interrogating the former Al-Qaeda member, and neither LAPD nor the FBI had found any further leads.

She slumped back into one of the uncomfortable waiting chairs, and attempted the impossible task of trying to relax, knowing it would be a while until they had finished examining the extent of Deeks' head trauma, and she would be able to see him.

...

After what seemed like hours, but more accurately was only about forty-five minutes, Natalie reappeared in the waiting room. This time she did not call out aloud, as she knew the only one who was currently there for the unfortunate agent was the brown-haired woman who quickly rose to her feet.

A feeling of déjà vu encompassed the scenario, as the female agent nervously walked to stand in front of the older nurse in search of information.

"How is he?" Kensi asked before Natalie had a time to speak up.

"We've been able to assess Agent Deeks' head injury, and there does _not_ appear to be any swelling or bleedings, our neurologist determined that it _is_ a concussion."

The relief upon hearing that the head trauma he had sustained was 'only' a concussion was easy to see on her face. Her lips, which had been in a tight line, bent upwards slightly at the news, her brown, mismatched eyes a tinge brighter and the lines on her forehead slowly dissipated.

"And the x-rays?" She inquired hopefully.

"Two cracked ribs and a few bruised ones," Natalie decided to ease in the injuries. "As expected the fibula on his left leg was fractured, luckily it is a clean break, and the recovery time is expected to be around six weeks, not counting physical therapy."

Kensi nodded slowly, memorizing the information she was given. "And his arm?"

The nurse took a deep breath before going into the explanation. "His elbow was broken in two places, the humerus and ulna, unfortunately it's a displaced fracture, which means that he will have to undergo corrective surgery, but a surgeon will talk with you and Agent Deeks about it in more detail once he is fully awake." Natalie took a break, looking at the brunette to ensure that she was following what was being said. "His shoulder was dislocated quite badly, which will most likely have caused a rotator cuff tear and possibly a small fracture, however, we will need a CT-scan for a more detailed picture before an orthopedist to be able to correctly diagnose the exact damage."

The relief Kensi had previously felt had slowly disappeared, and another wave of dread flushed over her as Nurse Natalie continuously talked about the extensive damage to his arm.

Natalie had noticed the woman's change in demeanor once more, "An orderly should have moved him into his room by now, if you'd like to see him." She told her with a smile. She knew, that one of the worst parts about having loved ones go through severe physical trauma was usually the time you were unable to see or feel them, especially just after having been told the extensiveness of the injuries of said loved one.

Kensi allowed herself a sad smile at the offer, just as Natalie had expected. "Okay," she said, barely nodding her head. "Let's go," she told the nurse, now more determined to see the injured form of _her_ Marty Deeks.

A few minutes later, after Nurse Natalie had left down the same hallway they had just walked down, Kensi found that she was alone once more, her hand hovering just above the door handle to the room, which Natalie had assured her that the man whom she cared the most about in the World was currently lying asleep in.

Unsure why she was hesitating to open the door, a few minutes ago, she could hardly see him fast enough and yet now that she just had to push the door open, it seemed like an enormous task. Somehow, opening the door and seeing the man would make all the injuries, which Nurse Natalie had mentioned, 'real.'

A few slow, deep breaths later, she was able to suppress the irrational voice telling her not to enter. She slowly pulled on the handle and stepped into the room, eyes trained on the floor to prolong the time she had before seeing his injured form with a few seconds. She could hear the comfortable rhythmic beeping of the equipment reminding her that although he was not awake, he was alive.

Once she finally looked up upon his pale, injured body, she rushed to his side, the need to touch him overwhelming her. She tenderly held his hand in hers before placing her other hand on top of his, sandwiching it between hers. Even though he was currently sleeping off the anesthetics, she felt like he would know that she was near him, and as such, wanted to give him the most amount of comfort as possible.

Wrapping her hands around his, she took notice of the coldness of his skin. The usual warmth that his hands would give her was gone from the frail and bruised man lying on the hospital bed.

She studied his face closely. Now that they were no longer in the ambulance and she knew, that his life was no longer in danger, she could allow herself time to thoroughly examine his injuries.

Letting go with one of her hands, she gently pushed a blonde tendril of hair out of his eyes, giving her an unobstructed view of his face. The rather large gash on his forehead now had butterfly stitches over it, holding it closed. A nasal cannula was helping with supplemental oxygen, she guessed it had been deemed necessary since he had just undergone surgery _and_ had damaged ribs, which would certainly also hinder his breathing. There were a few minor scrapes and a dark bruise was already forming the scruff on his chin, but everything considered, he had gotten off lightly, and for that, Kensi was grateful.

Done examining his face, she let her gaze drift over his injured form. His midsection was heavily bruised, dark marks already starting to form around the ribs, and she was sure that bruises would cover his entire torso before long. A bunch of different scratches and sores littered the otherwise toned body, with a few of the larger lacerations covered with the same type of butterfly stiches as on his forehead. On top of his stomach rested his left arm, a temporary cast was around his left elbow holding it in place, a sling was around it, no doubt to continue to help hold his shoulder and elbow still once he was awake.

She could not see it because of the sheets, but she was certain that he also had a cast on his left leg, since he had broken the smaller of the two bones in his shin as well.

She looked around the room and upon finding the chair she was searching for, she dragged it over next to the hospital bed in order to be able to sit close and hold his hand, as much for her own comfort as his. She sat like that for a little while, interchanging between looking at his face and resting her head on their intertwined hands, before she remembered that she would have to call the operations manager once more to update her on Deeks' injuries.

As if on cue, a nurse walked into the room to check on the sleeping man's vitals, giving Kensi the opportunity to leave the room shortly to call Hetty, since she really did not want him to be alone in case he would wake up.

"Ms. Blye, I hope you have some good news for me," the operations manager answered her phone.

"Well, yes and no." She answered before going into a detailed account of all Deeks' injuries. She started by telling Hetty, how the internal bleeding had been fixed in the emergency surgery and that there were no signs of further bleeds. Even though the woman was usually impossible to read, the relief had been easily recognizable in Hetty's voice, after her female agent had mentioned the concussion and no further head trauma. Her worries and fears for the man had luckily been much worse than reality. Kensi continued to tell her boss about the two cracked ribs, as well as how his arm would need _at least_ one corrective surgery, pending the CT-scan needed of his shoulder.

Throughout the mostly one-sided conversation, Kensi felt her anxiety rising once again, as she slumped against the wall, where she sat on the floor and continued to tell the operations manager about the numerous injuries of the man, whom she cared the most about.

Finally done with the update, Hetty took over the conversation, and started telling Kensi about what had happened with the case in the last hour and a half.

The operations manager told her about, how Sam and Callen had finally been able to trick Mr. Tahan into giving them a location, which they were now headed towards alongside the FBI tactical team. She was carefully optimistic, that the location was where the last few members of the terror cell was, since there was now only an hour and fifteen minutes until, according to the audio file containing the threat, another recruitment center would get blown up.

After finishing her conversation, Kensi walked back into the private hospital room, where the nurse was just finishing off charting his information.

"How is he doing?" Kensi asked, careful not to startle the young woman, who could not have been more than in her mid-twenties.

"He's doing really well," the nurse, whose nametag identified her as 'Heather,' answered smilingly. "His blood pressure is increasing to where we want it to be, which is a great sign that his internal bleedings are fully fixed."

Kensi now smiled back at the young, fair-haired woman, "Do you have any idea when he might wake up?" She asked. Touching Deeks was one things, but what she _really_ needed before she would allow herself to calm completely was to talk to him. To hear his voice and see those wonderful blue orbs of his.

"He should wake up within the hour," Nurse Heather told her. "But you need to be aware, that he will be groggy at best, given that he's coming out of anesthesia as well as his head injury."

"Okay, thank you." She already knew that he would be groggy, after all, she, too, had had her fair share of concussions, both as an active child, but also from working in the line of business that she did.

The nurse walked out the room, as Kensi retook her place next to the sleeping man. She sat and watched his face for a few minutes, as she had previously, before she leaned over and put her forehead against their intertwined hands. She slowly fell into a slumber, the raids and emotional exhaustion showing its toll on her.

She roused from her doze, when a faint groan sounded. She immediately stood up, when she realized who had made the sound, and she tenderly moved to cup his cheek with her hand.

"Hey Marty, I'm right here. I'm right here." she soothingly told him as she caressed his cheek with her thumb in a calming manner, wanting to ensure that he knew he was safe and no longer trapped in a concrete and wooden tomb beneath a crumbled house.

She saw his eyes move beneath his eyelids, as creases started to form on his forehead in a pained expression. Kensi quickly reached for the call button with the hand not caressing his face, notifying the nurses that he was awake. Before any nurse arrived, Deeks managed to slowly force his eyes open, relief filling Kensi at the sight of his ocean blue eyes.

He looked bewildered around the room, clearly still confused and dazed from the sedative anesthetic he had previously been given. As his eyes turned to the beautiful brunette hovering above him, his eyes stopped moving and as he fixated on her brown and hazel mismatched eyes, recognition was evident in his blue orbs.

She placed a light kiss on his lips. "Good morning handsome," she lovingly greeted him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: _Finally_ the next installment of SOG is out. A combination of school and a mild writer's block delaying the update. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**All the best, Cape!**

* * *

Across the city, Callen and Sam were gearing up alongside the FBI tactical team to raid an address, which hopefully housed the remaining two members of the terrorist cell.

The ex-Navy SEAL and former CIA agent had been able to bait Abdul-Shahid Tahan in the interrogation room, aggravating him into not thinking clearly, his hatred for everything American clouded his mind, and as such, they were able to get the man to reveal an address, where he had sought shelter previously alongside the other two terrorists currently unaccounted for.

That address was just around the corner, from where the agents were. The men had donned their tactical gear, checked their weapons, and started moving into position. They were stacked on the door, Sam, being trained in explosives, was at the front making sure the door was not rigged.

He looked back over his shoulder to the men in full tactical gear and nodded once, signaling to them that the door was clear. He moved to the opposite side of the entrance than where the other agents had stacked up in order to grant them a cleaner breach.

He silently counted down using his fingers, starting at five and slowly lowering one at a time. As he lowered the last one, he pulled open the door, allowing the tactical team to rush in, the two NCIS agents close behind as they rushed the building. Sounds of suppressed gunfire and yelling sounded throughout the estate as the group went room to room clearing it.

The whole thing was over quite quickly, without Sam or Callen even seeing any of the culprits. Luckily, there were no casualties nor injuries for the agents, but unfortunately, the FBI tactical squad had been forced to neutralize the two enemy combatants in the house, allowing no one left for the agents to interrogate.

As the 'all clear' sounded, the two NCIS special agents secured their rifles and flung over their shoulders, the weight of the guns carried by the weapon-sling that held the weapon firmly to their backs and out of their way.

They made their way into the room, which had the two downed culprits. The carpet floor slowly soaking with the dark crimson red color from the opponents. Callen grabbed his phone quickly snatching a picture of each of the two men, telling Eric, whom they were still connected to through their earwigs, to attempt to identify the two.

"You guys need to check this out," a voice sounded through the house, just as the lead agent had finished giving the orders to the technical operator.

The partners swiftly made their way to the room, where one of the members of the FBI's tactical team stood. Their eyes drifted towards the contents of what was on the large metal table in the room, the two agents immediately recognized the devices as a considerably large explosive ordnance.

Taking no chances since the incident with the former Master Sergeant turned NCIS agent, the building was quickly cleared of agents, both NCIS and FBI, as they were forced to wait impatiently for the bomb squad to arrive in order to fully secure the premises.

He felt her press a tender kiss to his lips, the softness of her touch bringing him some comfort. His still clouded vision had settled on the beautiful form hovering above him, but as his mind started returning from the haze the sedative anesthetics caused, so did the pain

"Good morning, handsome," he heard her soft voice greet him.

He wanted to answer her greeting, but his mouth was completely dry and he found himself unable to form any words. The pain was starting to overtake his senses and his expression of loving recognition turned into one of strained anguish. He focused on the gentle caress of his cheek and the pained expression in the mismatched eyes of the woman he adored.

Kensi was tenderly running her thumb back and forth in a comforting manner, and although she knew that he would be okay, she was still shaken from the horrible event at the house. Pictures of the collapsing building was still at the forefront of her mind and the emotional terror she felt was still fresh and raw.

He moved his uninjured hand to his cheek, coving her hand with his as he squeezed weakly. He could clearly see her battling her emotions, and he knew that she wanted to appear strong for him, giving him something to tether to, but the thin layer of unshed tears were showing her current lack of control over her emotions, and as such, he wanted to comfort her as well.

"I'm still here, Kens." He whispered once he regained some of his voice. He knew that he could not tell her that he was 'okay,' since that would have been a lie, but he wanted to assure her as much as he could.

She gave him a weak smile at his attempt to comfort her, but it fell flat. She was just about to say something when the door opened, and an older man walked in. Nurse Heather followed the doctor closely, and the familiar face helped calm the female agent. She let her hand drift to his side, as she, for some reason, felt that the intimate place she held it before was inappropriate.

"Hello Mr. Deeks," the elder man greeted warmly, his voice deep and relaxing. "I'm Dr. Gerard Bernier, I'm the chief surgeon here, and I was the one performing your surgery. I'm not sure how much Ms." He gestured towards Kensi apologetically, silently asking her name since he accidentally skipped the introductions.

"Blye, Kensi Blye," She smiled at the man.

"How much Ms. Blye has told you so far," he finished his sentence.

"She didn't get the chance yet," his hoarse voice sounded, slightly slurred as he was still weaning off the sedative.

"Alright, but before I start explaining everything, how are you feeling, Mr. Deeks?" The grey-haired man asked kindly, as he, too, had noticed the creases forming on the blond man's forehead.

"Like a building collapsed on me."

He heard Kensi's audibly gasp and immediately regretted his attempt at gallows humor. He looked at her apologetically and grabbed her hand, which was at his side, squeezing it tightly to let her know he was sorry.

She smiled sadly at him, and nodded once to let him know he was okay.

"I will give you some pain relief intravenously, alright?"

Deeks nodded, welcoming the thought of lessening the pain he currently felt.

Dr. Bernier added some pain medication to the IV, currently hooked up to Deeks' left hand, which would help numb some of the pain the bruised man felt. Once he was happy that it would have the wanted effect, the doctor started explaining the injuries that the former SOG agent had sustained.

Kensi watched the injured man closely as the doctor explained the injuries. His lips were in a tight line, when he was told about the internal bleeding, she squeezed his hand, silently offering comfort without interrupting the kind doctor.

"I know that's a lot to digest," the doctor started as he finished the rundown of all the injuries. "But do you have any questions as of right now?"

"When will the doctor arrive to talk about the correctional surgery?" Although he understood the reason behind it, he hated the thought of having to undergo further surgeries, hated the feeling of lack of control over his body the anesthetics brought. He had been told he, without a doubt, had to undergo surgery for his elbow, but what he truly dreaded was his shoulder injury. He knew that the longevity of any physical therapy for a damaged shoulder could stretch years, if truly unlucky.

"He will be around later today," the doctor padded his uninjured leg. "For now you should get some rest, your body needs it and the medication will make you sleepy." The old, gray-haired doctor smiled warmly.

Dr. Bernier left the room after nodding farewell, leaving Kensi, Deeks, and Nurse Heather, whom, until now, had been busy writing down his vitals. She put away her notes and looked at the two agents, "If you need anything, I'll be here until midnight," she kindly informed the two. "I'll make sure to check in on you a bit later, you try to get some rest now."

They thanked the young, blonde nurse and they were once again alone in the room.

"How are you doing?"

"Shouldn't _I_ be asking _you_ about that?" She asked incredulously.

"Get on with it then," he said playfully ostentatious. A familiar glint of mischief in his eyes that she had missed.

She shook her head at his cheeky antics, but she had a smile on her face as she did, which she knew had been his goal. She looked down at him and saw him cocking his brow, obviously still waiting for her to get on with it. She shook her head as she squeezed once, her hand still firmly in his, before asking more seriously, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright, a bit of pain but the meds should start working soon," he assured her, intertwining their fingers and squeezed her hand. "How are Sam and Callen?"

She should not have been surprised at his question, he was fiercely protective of his team. He had managed to do, what many before him could not, fit in with the elite team that was NCIS' Office of Special Projects and in record time.

She figured it was because he was a normally easygoing man, whom had something in common with everyone on the team. His background with the CIA had bonded him and Callen, whereas the time served in the military, albeit a different military branch, had served well in getting on Sam's good side, leaving herself, whom he was in a relationship with, although only platonically so far, it was clear to most everyone that the two of them had a special connection.

"They tricked one of the members of the group to give them an address, they're there with the FBI tact squad right now." She explained calmly.

"Shouldn't you be with them?" He questioned.

"I'm right where I need to be," she lovingly assured him, before she tenderly brushed his blond tendrils from his damp forehead, bending down to press a light kiss to his temple, making sure to avoid the cuts and bruises on his face. "You should get some rest, Marty."

He could see the vulnerability that she so desperately tried to hide from everyone starting to form, she was blinking more frequent than usually, probably to keep the tears at bay he thought. He was certain, that she did not want to concern him with her emotional pain right now, but that was not her decision to make.

She should have known him better than to hide her feelings, he brought their intertwined hands to his face and tenderly pressed, what he hoped to be, a comforting kiss to the back of her palm. "I'm still here, Kens," he told her just above a whisper.

She closed her eyes tight, chastising herself for not hiding her feelings better right now. Although she knew, that he should not have to carry the weight of her worry in his weakened state, she also _did_ know him better than that. As such, the feeling to go against her own rule of thumb and start telling him about what she had felt started taking root.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" He said the teasing sentence in a serious voice.

That was the last push for her to open up.

"I was absolutely terrified, when I heard the explosion." She started her confession, her voice already wavering. "When I made it back to my feet and couldn't find you, I was so scared that I had lost you. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." She had lost the fight against her grief, and the salty tears were silently dribbling down her soft cheeks.

"I don't know what I'd do without you either," he told her as he let go of her hand, reaching for her cheek, tenderly wiping the tears rolling down.

She nodded solemnly at him, placing her hand on top of his. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll call Hetty, see if I can get an update on how Sam and Callen's raid went, if they're done with it." She was done with the weakness for now, she needed to be strong, not just for herself, but also for the man currently laying in the hospital bed.

He knew that she was right, he could not do anything from a hospital bed anyways, and if was being honest with himself, he was starting to feel quite drowsy as well. He nodded at her, and pulled her head down to his, pressing tenderly against her lips. "Go get that update, I'll be waiting right here," he told her cheekily, sleepiness deepening his voice.

She pecked his lips once more before standing straight. "Goodnight, Marty," she called over her shoulder, as she made her way out of the hospital room to get an update on the status of the case.

"All clear!" The welcoming voice sounded, as the leader from the bomb squad exited the building, finally allowing the agents access to search the house.

The crime scene technicians, whom had arrived, whilst everyone was waiting for bomb squad to clear the explosive ordnance from the premises, were the first to walk back into the house, closely followed Sam and Callen, who had quickly stopped to shake hands with the bomb squad leader before they headed off.

The two seasoned agents went to the room, where the explosives had first been discovered. There were loads of papers scattered around the room and, seeing as time might still have been of the essence, they immediately started going through it.

They found the plans for rigging the previous address they had raided, which had caused the temporary decommission of one of their agents, confirming what they already knew. Sam also managed to find a list of names, he recognized a few of the listed names, one of them being Abdul-Shahid Tahan. He took a photo using his cellphone and sent it to OPS, wanting to check that all the names on the list were either taken in custody or taken down.

"Take a look at this, Sam." The team lead called out, a few minutes after Sam had found the other list. "It's a map of all the recruitment centers in Los Angeles."

"And they've circled one," the ex-Navy SEAL commented.

"I'll call Eric, in case they have more bombs than the one we found here." Callen told his partner, dreading that they were already too late to prevent the threat of the promised attack.

"Hey Callen, what's up?" The technical operator answered immediately in his always cheery voice.

"Eric we've found a map with the US Army Recruitment Center in Koreatown circled. We need bomb squad on scene and a discreet evacuation in case someone is watching it."

"I'll get right on that," he assured, his voice turning serious, and Callen knew the blond tech-operator had his game face on.

"Alright, so I walked through all the names on the list," Nell started after stealing Eric's cell. "We've just gotten hits on the facial rec from the two guys in the house you're in and it's the two remaining names on the list, so it seems that all the names are accounted for."

"Alright, tell Hetty. Sam and I will head to the recruitment center." He finished the call.

Offensive driving would be putting it mildly. Sam managed to push the Challenger through the busy afternoon traffic at a rate, which would seem impossible to anyone, who had not actually witnessed the feat.

When they arrived at the recruitment center, it was almost a quarter to three, which meant, they had roughly fifteen minutes until the threat told them the explosion would occur. They quickly exited the black vehicle and moved towards the building.

The bomb squad, who had their station quite close to the area, was already on scene and busy with clearing the otherwise bland building. Since the military building was not yet deemed clear for entrance, the two senior agents went to an older, uniformed man, whom they assumed to be running the recruitment center.

The lieutenant had not seen anything out of the ordinary for the past week and seemed a bit shaken by the fact that his workplace had been targeted. He had heard about the attack on the naval recruitment center, which had happened during the night and was quick to put two-and-two together, but the seasoned military man assured the agents that his lips was sealed in regards to a terrorism act on home soil.

While they were waiting for the area to be secured, Sam and the older lieutenant spoke casually for a while, whilst Callen checked in with OPS in case there were any new information that had come up before speaking to the FBI representative who was also on site.

Unfortunately, nothing new had been discovered in regards to any of the men from the list, but since they were all in custody or no longer breathing, it would only serve to identify further potential, but not imminent, threats.

They had somehow managed to keep the media out of the picture at the location through combined efforts of NCIS, FBI, and LAPD, but they knew it would only be a matter of time before journalists would get word that there was something happening at yet another recruitment center.

Luckily, the bomb squad was working like a well-oiled machine and they managed to clear the building as well as the surrounding ones in record time. The leader of the specialized unit went to greet Callen and Sam. He informed the agents that everything was cleared and no explosive ordnances was found on the premises.

The two senior agents took a breath of relief as that meant that the already disarmed explosive ordnance at the previous address was meant for this recruitment center, which meant that the terrorist threat had been neutralized.

Happy that the threat was no longer existent before the media started figuring out that there were terrorist attacks on US soil, the lead agent called to inform their operations manager of the positive news.

"Excellent work, Mr. Callen," she told him. "Now, I do believe you have some business to attend to."

"Uhm, Hetty?" He questioned, knowing it was often better to just admit you were at a loss rather than try to figure out her mysterious sayings.

"I think Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks would appreciate some friendly faces, wouldn't you agree?" She asked the senior agent as if the answer was obvious.

She had woken him up, when an orthopedic doctor came, whom was quite a bit younger than Dr. Bernier. He introduced himself as Dr. Emil Blanchard before he explained how Deeks would have to undergo corrective surgery, which would be an internal fixation in his elbow in order to ensure that the break healed correctly. He was also told that he would need a CT-scan in order to assess whether or not he would need surgery for his shoulder as well. That would be done during the evening since there was available time and it was not an emergency and the corrective surgery would be even later during the night.

He was happy that Kensi had been there throughout the doctor's visit, since he had still been under the influence of the pain relief and combining that with just waking up would have made for a very one-sided conversation, if Kensi had not asked some clarifying questions.

Shortly after the kind doctor had left, the former Master Sergeant had once again succumbed to sleep, which was the exact state he was still in, when the two senior agents entered the private hospital room.

Kensi immediately let go of his hand, and motioned for them to be quiet by placing her finger in front of her lips.

"How's he doing, Kens?" The team lead asked concernedly. The two agents had discussed which kind of _partnership_ their female agent had with the former SOG operator on the way over to the hospital. They had seen her emotional reaction, when the building collapsed, and knew that her feelings for the man went above that of a regular partnership.

She swallowed deeply before replying, further confirming their theory. "He's pretty banged up, but he'll live," she stated, only allowing her expression to show slight concern.

He started awakening from his slumber, obviously reacting to her voice.

"Hey guys," he greeted them, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty," the ex-Navy SEAL jokingly greeted him.

He chuckled at the humorous jab, but quickly stopped as his ribs protested loudly. "How'd the raid go?" He asked wearily after catching his breath.

"We got them, Deeks," the team lead fiercely proclaimed. "We got the bastards who put you here."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you so, so, so much for the incredible support throughout the adventure! It has been absolutely mindboggling.**

 **I have decided to make this the final chapter in this story for many a reasons, but mainly because I felt like this was a fitting end. Hopefully you'll agree, and if not constructive criticism is always welcome. I might end up revisiting this universe in a 2nd story, but that won't happen for quite a while, and as such, I won't make any promises towards that.**

 **Hope you'll enjoy!**

 **All the best, Cape!**

* * *

It had been four days since the attack on the naval recruitment center, which also meant that it had been four days since the horrible event, that had a building crumble on top of the former Master Sergeant.

His elbow operation had gone as expected, the displaced fracture had been put into place by two screws and was thoroughly cleaned to avoid any infections. The CT-scan of the agents' shoulder had brought surprisingly positive results, the fear of a torn rotator cuff had proven untrue, there had just been some swelling, for which the treatment was not using the shoulder. That had not been a problem, since he was already using a sling for his broken elbow.

He had been in the hospital for the past days in order to monitor his healing process, even though Deeks had done everything in his power to be released from the hospital as soon as possible. However, as the former SOG agent had found out, his puppy eyes tended to work a lot better when female doctors were involved, neither Dr. Bernier nor Dr. Blanchard had been too impressed with his antics. Therefore, he had only been allowed to leave the hospital once the doctors were satisfied that he would have no long-lasting problems from the internal damages and that his healing prognosis was exactly as it should be.

...

"You really didn't have to do this, Kens." He told her as they exited her silver SRX.

"You're right," she humored him. "I'm sure Sam or Callen would love to take care of the cripple."

"Wow, that's just… not nice," he mock protested. "Are you sure we're going to fit through there?" He asked, pointing towards her front door.

She sighed dramatically, "We'll fit through just fine."

"I could, you know… just jump on one leg through if it's a problem," he offered.

"Deeks… You can't just hobble through, you need to rest your shoulder and jumping around like that will make you tense it. You know that." She chastised the injured man.

"I know," he said, before he was the one sighing deeply. "Look, Kens, I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass. I'm not used to having anybody look out for me." he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"You _are_ a horrible patient," she told him, before she stopped pushing the wheelchair, walked around it, and knelt down in front of him so he could see her face. She grabbed his good hand and squeezed, "But you better start getting used to having someone looking out for you, because I'm not going anywhere, Marty."

His expression had softened at her heartfelt assurance as he started blinking to fight away the sudden appearance of oncoming tears. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" He asked wonderingly, his weakened physical form had removed the usual barrier that barred him from showing too many emotions.

She leaned in and sealed his lips with hers, in a tender yet passionate kiss, which brought the promise of security. When they finally parted for air, she looked at his expression of wonder. "You must have done something really great, Marty Deeks," she giggled.

He smiled lovingly at her, already feeling better about the whole situation. The fact that he was able make the kickass special agent, whom could beat almost anyone in a fair fight, giggle was something he would never tire being reminded of.

"Let's get you inside," she told him, once she realized that he had no plans to retort her statement.

Just as Kensi had suspected, they got through the door without any trouble, and she quickly got Deeks situated on the couch, making sure to keep his injured leg elevated, resting nicely on a throw pillow on top of her coffee table. She went into the kitchen to grab something for them to drink, only to return to see the man having dozed off, knackered from the travel from the hospital.

Leaning against the doorframe, she studied his sleeping form and thought back to all the time they had had together. Even though they had only known each other for roughly two and a half months, the emotional connection they shared was beyond either of their comprehensions, and even though neither were great at displaying said emotions, they had both decided to just go with it. She thought how they still needed to continue their tourism at home once he was more mobile again, as she knew that because he struggled with accepting help from others, he would dislike being rolled around in a wheelchair to all the different packed locations.

Deciding that she needed something practical to do, she wrote him a small note saying that she had gone out for groceries. Since Kensi had spent the majority of her time with him at the hospital, she had nothing left in her fridge for them to eat nor snack on, and although not her usual diet mainly consisted on take-out, she knew that he would need better food to heal faster. As such, she left him to sleep on the couch, knowing that he would see her note if he for some reason woke up before she returned.

...

She managed to balance the two brown paper bags containing the groceries on one arm whilst retrieving her keys from her pocket, her form fitting jeans making the job much harder than it should have been. Just as she finally managed to retrieve the key and put it into the keyhole, she heard a thumb coming from inside the house followed by a loud groan.

She dropped the grocery bags, not caring if any of the purchased items would break from the drop, as all her attention was on getting the door open, so she could get to the man inside. The door flung open a few seconds later and she rushed inside, not bothering to close it behind her.

He was lying supine on the floor in the small space between her couch and the coffee table, his eyes firmly closed tightly shut and his shallow breath had quickened in a feeble attempt to combat the pain radiating throughout his body.

There were no reaction to her walking towards him, the pain clouding other senses, as he obviously had not noticed her return home. She pulled the coffee table away from the couch, giving them space and causing him to quickly sit up slightly at the surprise noise, which caused him to groan even louder as the pain in his injured ribs increased by the movement.

"Don't scare me like that," she told him concernedly, as she knelt next to him and her fingers through his hair in a calming manner.

He chuckled as much as his lack of breath allowed him, "Pretty sure you were the one who scared me right there, princess."

"You know what I meant," she chastised him, whilst trying to hold back smile at his term of affection, but the cute nickname had served its purpose of lightening the mood, albeit only slightly. "I can't leave you alone even for thirty minutes, can I?"

"Well, I wanted to watch some TV," he tried explaining, sounding almost like a young boy, who had just been scolded.

"And how did that work out?"

"Fine until I realized that the remote was on the coffee table." He looked at her with his puppy eyes, "Are you going to help me up?"

"Well…" she started responding, mischief clear in her voice now that she knew he was somewhat all right. "How did you end up down here?"

He sighed as deep as his cracked and bruised ribs would allow him to, knowing that he would probably get an earful from her. "I reached for the remote and by the time I realized that it was out of my reach, I overbalanced… and now I'm here."

"For a smart guy, you're really dumb," she just told him flat, as she started helping him up.

"You think I'm smart?" He teased.

"Not right now, you're not," she replied as he sunk back into the soft cushions of the couch. She grabbed him the remote, "Now try to not injure yourself whilst I go grab the groceries."

After she had picked up the paper bag and the contents and stocked the fridge, the two had spent the rest of the afternoon and much of the evening on the couch, watching whatever mindless television program was running. Although he had insisted that he was okay, he had noticed, that she kept glancing worriedly at him at from time to time, gauging whether or not he had been truthful in regards to his pain level. She got up to grab some of his prescribed pain medication, whenever it was time and she noticed his discomfort starting to show in the form of creased on his forehead.

...

Because of his injured leg, he was unable to utilize crutches, and as such, he was confined to a wheelchair throughout the first part of his recovery. Since cases had come in abundance during his recovery, Kensi's busy schedule had only allowed for few trips, or drives as he called them, to the boardwalk and nearby restaurants during evenings and the few free weekends, she had had.

The positive outcome of the whole thing was that since the two had spent so much time together, they had eventually ended up talking feelings. The conversation resulted in a title on their thing, and as such, they now called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. They also decided that they still would not tell their fellow colleagues about their newly titled relationship, _if_ they had not already figured it out.

...

Even though the weeks spent at Kensi's place had rewarded him with a new title, he was practically bouncing in his wheelchair, as Kensi rolled him into the hospital. A combination of his restricted movement and having been cooped up in Kensi's house for the past six weeks had left him restless. The day where he was having both his casts removed were upon them, and whilst he knew he would not instantly be mobile, it would allow him to start physical therapy, meaning he would spend more time outside the walls of the house, he had come to know well.

He had been in same hospital the previous week for a minor surgery in order to have the screws from the corrective surgery removed from his elbow, and because of that, they had been told to get some x-rays taken before today's consultation. Therefore, Kensi rolled the excited blond to the department of radiology.

X-rays in hand, they made their way to the waiting area and got settled in, knowing that given the nature of hospital visits and doctor's appointments, that the time they had been given for the appointment would likely be off anyways.

Half an hour later, his name was finally called, Kensi let the kind nurse push Deeks' wheelchair, but she stayed closely behind and followed them into the room.

The consultation with the doctor was quite lengthy. The elderly doctor started by closely studying the newly taken x-rays. When he was pleased that everything was as it should be, he carefully started working on removing the immobilizing elbow cast.

Kensi studied her boyfriend's face for any signs of discomfort, when he was asked to attempt a few mobility exercises with his newly mobile elbow. She saw how he, carefully but determinedly, followed the doctor's instructions, whilst the experienced orthopedist closely examined the execution of said exercises, telling the nurse medical jargon to note down that neither Kensi nor Deeks understood.

It was the same procedure with the cast for his ankle, first a long look at the newly taken x-ray picture, before removing the cast, and finally some exercises, including carefully drawing the alphabet in the air by rotating his foot. Kensi had to bite back a laugh, when he asked if the aging doctor would mind singing the alphabet song along with him to help him remember the order of the letters, causing a hearty chuckle from the otherwise serious medical professional.

Lastly, he was asked to attempt a few mobility exercises with his shoulder, but they were all done with ease. Because of the sling his arm had been in, he had used his shoulder minimally in the past month and a half, and as such, the swelling had completely dissipated and he had no impaired movement in the joint.

The doctor had been very positive by the healing progress, quoting it as being much above average, which had pleased not only Deeks but especially Kensi as well.

"So what do we do about physical therapy?" The former SOG agent asked curiously, wanting to start it as soon as possible in order to hasten his recovery.

"Well, usually we would arrange for that at a partnered facility, but I have been contacted by a Miss Lange, whom assured me that she had it all taken care of." The elder doctor replied.

Deeks furrowed his eyebrows at that and looked to Kensi for answers. He had had minimal contact with the tiny operations manager since his injury, only speaking to her briefly over the phone, when she enquired about his well-being.

She merely shrugged, as the information the doctor had provided was news to her as well.

The doctor, too, had noticed the quizzical look on his face, "I assure you, that the physical therapist, Miss Lange has chosen, is highly regarded." He guaranteed.

It did not surprise her that their boss had made arrangements for her agent, since the powerful woman had many contacts and could usually arrange for the best treatment possible.

They spoke a bit more about the prognosis and outlook for the coming months, where the blond man surprised the doctor with his extensive knowledge of the process, which stemmed from the plethora of injuries he had sustained during his long military career.

The mood was good when they left the hospital, the positive prognosis had brightened both agents' day tremendously, and since she had been given the rest of the day off, they decided to go to the nearby beach promenade for an early dinner, and per Kensi's suggestion or more like demand, dessert afterwards.

...

The first week with physical therapy had gone surprisingly fast, the usually very active man had gotten an outlet for some of all his pent up energy, he otherwise had been storing during his recovery.

He was still staying around her house. He was only allowed to put minimum weight on his injured leg and only for short durations, which meant that he still was not able to go grocery shopping or even stay on two feet long enough to cook anything more complicated than a glass of milk. Although that was the case, he _had_ been allowed to drive due to some string pulling by the operations manager, since his right arm and leg were fine, he was able to operate an automatic vehicle without much problems, which meant that he could attend his therapy sessions without needing anyone to take him.

However, with all processes, there are setbacks, as Kensi discovered one of his, when she had returned home from a rather boring day, filled with nothing but paperwork. She had gotten home a bit earlier, than what she usually would have, because yesterday had been a long day, Hetty had let her agents go home before time.

She opened the door and called out for him, but since she had not seen his car out front, she had not expected him to be there, knowing that he would probably still be at the rehabilitation center.

A few minutes after arriving back home, she was standing in the kitchen, when she heard him unlock and open the door. As opposed to her, he did not call out upon entering, instead she could hear the familiar sound of his limping shuffle in the living room.

When a loud groan of annoyance sounded from the living room, she decided to go and see what was up with him. He was lying on the couch with his bad leg elevated up on the armrest with a hand draped over his eyes.

She could practically feel the tension radiating off him, as she approached the supine man.

"What's wrong, baby?" She carefully asked, still a few feet away from him, as she did not want to spook him.

He turned his head towards her and his expression softened, but not before, she saw the pain painted clearly on his face. He reached out for her hand, "I'm fine."

She accepted the proffered hand, intertwining their fingers. "I know you better than that, you know." She told him, hating whenever he would keep anything from her.

"I know," he sighed. "Just had a bad session today, that's all."

"Your ankle?" She asked, knowing that it was surprisingly the clean break, which caused him the most trouble during his rehabilitation.

He nodded and finally allowed the pained expression he had been hiding from her come forward. She squeezed his hand before heading to the kitchen. Grabbing one of the many icepacks she had stored there as well as some painkillers and a bottle of water, she returned and placed it tenderly over the throbbing leg as she gave him the medicine and water.

"Did you drive home yourself?" She asked concernedly.

"Yeah…" he dragged out the answer after swallowing the two pills.

"How many times do I have to remind you, Marty? You should have called, I could have picked you up. You're not alone in this."

"Obviously a few more times," he chuckled, before swallowing deeply. He looked at her with a vulnerable look, "I'm sorry."

She did not know if he apologized for hurting himself, for not calling her so she could pick him up, or perhaps a combination of both. What she did know was that he still struggled with having someone look after him, "You need to stop overdoing it, you know." She started softly. "And you need to allow me in. Allow me to help you. Can you do that for me?"

He looked into her mismatched eyes and found nothing but sincerity and concern in them, his own blue orbs shone with a glimmering layer of unshed tears at the reminder that he was not alone in any of this. "I'll try. But you might need to remind me a few more times."

"I'll remind you as much as you need," she confirmed.

"Lay with me?" He requested, as he scooted closer to the back of the couch.

She looked at him unsure and he was easily able to read her concern. "You won't hurt me." He assured her, "I'll let you know if you do. I just need you close right now, okay?"

Convinced that he was telling the truth, and unable to deny him what he wanted after he showed her such vulnerability, she got on the couch next to him, carefully stretching out until she filled out the length of the sofa.

As she rested her head on his shoulder and draped her arm across his chest, he thought on the long road of recovery ahead of him. A daunting task he, unfortunately, had been through many a time before. This time was different, however. This time, he did not need to go through with it alone, because he had the most amazing woman by his side, who was steadfastly ready to help him over every hurdle, he might encounter on the long journey ahead.

At peace of mind and with invigorated confidence that he would make it through whatever life decided to throw at him. That _they_ would make it through whatever life decided to throw at them.

He slowly drifted towards slumber, at the thought. He would never have to be alone ever again. No. They would make it through…

Together.

 **-Fin-**

* * *

 **So... that was it. Thank you for sticking through with me until now!**

 **I have a few new ideas for new stories, but any and all prompts are much welcome!**


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